In Search of New Dreams
by Beloved of Aragorn
Summary: What will Jareth do when an old enemy awakens and comes for Sarah? What will Sarah do when confronted yet again with the Goblin King who haunts her heart seven years later? New dreams are about to awaken.
1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**I have returned from the dead to FanFiction! And years later I never thought it would be because of an 80's film that I re-watched from childhood. Go figure. Obviously most Labyrinth fanfic is a little AU since the film was symbolic about leaving behind fantasy to embrace reality/adulthood, but guess what? We're writers! Fiction writers don't always live in the real world anyway, so we're pretending Jareth and his goblin kingdom were all real. Ha.

Side note, I've never done any Labyrinth fanfic so I'm not sure how it'll turn out, but please give me feedback (not flames) and let me know. Plus, I've read _very_ few of them so anything similar is completely accidental! Enjoy :)

**UPDATE (3/15): **I'm editing and touching up the story a chapter at a time, so hopefully it will be much improved. I did bare-bones editing before, so this will improve sentence structure, word usage, and clutter. Nothing drastic will change!

**Disclaimer:** I don't own anything from Labyrinth. There. Done.

**Summary:**It's been seven years since Sarah last was in the Underground, but strange dreams and bizarre circumstances begin to haunt her and draw her back to a place she thought she'd never see again. And to someone she never thought she'd see again. An old enemy of the Goblin King arises from the shadows. What will Jareth do when Sarah is in danger? And will Sarah realise her dreams have changed before it's too late? (Is it just me or are summaries somehow cheesy no matter what you do? Or it's just _my_ summaries...)

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><p><strong>Prologue<strong>

**...**

_There's such a fooled heart  
>Beating so fast in search of new dreams<br>A love that will last within your heart  
><em>

**...**

**...**

The lush emerald lawns. The old stone bridge bent over the gently flowing stream of clear cold water. The bordering trees tall and proud with long years in their roots. Everything was exactly as she remembered it, even the grey stone bench where she used to sit with a book in hand when she was younger. Lots of adventures had happened here, and lots of dreams had been woven from her imagination down into her heart.

Sarah Williams smiled softly to herself as a myriad of memories spun around her in this park that was once so precious to her as a child and a teenager. It had been a refuge and an escape for a girl who sought something extraordinary beyond what her eyes could see in an ordinary life, her wild imagination something of a marvel to the people in her life. But to her a treasured thing not lost in childhood.

She was twenty-two years old. Somehow her imagination was still fairly intact after the years passed on and childhood left her with its lingering gift. What she did lose was the childish selfishness and impetuousness that had gotten her into a spot of trouble years ago.

Seven years to be exact.

How could she forget? She had tried to more than once. No matter how she tried to bury the memories or convince herself it all was simply a dream, she knew the truth.

The Labyrinth.

The name in itself sent shudders down her spine.

Sarah slipped off her shoes to feel the springy grass between her toes and on her skin. She tilted her head up towards the warm sunlight and drew a deep breath of the fresh, sweet air. White flowers dotted the ground like pale stars scattered in a green sky.

An adventure unlike any other had become reality for her with just one misspoken wish, and the book she treasured so dearly had come to life. The labyrinth. That maze full of traps, trickery, and confusion that she had defeated both by persistence and heart. It was there she made friends in an hour of need, friends who were still dear to her and left with a promise to be there whenever she called. Hoggle, the stubborn yet kind dwarf. Ludo, the hairy beast who called even the rocks his friends. Sir Didymus, the fiery fox so noble and loyal.

When her sixteenth birthday had rolled around, her memories of the spectacular experience remained vibrant and her friends still often called upon. Her seventeenth birthday came and went. High school was the least of her worries as the world began to pressure her about college and her future. Those wonderful beings from the labyrinth suddenly didn't visit so very often, and her thoughts were mostly elsewhere. Eighteen arrived and brought the end of an important four years.

Graduation carried a bittersweet parting from the family she had come to love, even Toby, that little boy she once had wished away. Her stepmother Karen still did not seem like her own mother, but they had built a good relationship the older she grew and the more she put away childish tendencies. Sarah found that her strange experience—that she had breathed a word of to no one except Toby when he was still too little to understand—helped give her direction in life.

She was quite dramatic at fifteen and harbouring an inner desire to be just like her mother who was a star performer. Those dreams had grown and transformed even as she did. Now she took classes and worked part-time to become a playwright. She had been involved in drama in high school and adored the stage, but the years added to and refined her desire. Sarah wanted to write the part rather than just play it. Especially as she came into her own and realised she did not want to be just like her mother, a mother who rarely saw her daughter while being caught up in her own world.

A gentle breeze picked up and breathed into her raven-coloured hair. Her character and circumstances weren't the only things that had changed. At twenty-two, the youthful roundness of her face had become defined, she had grown a few more inches in height, and she looked more a woman than a girl. But she still had the porcelain skin, the rosy lips, entrancing green eyes, and dark tresses that had marked her a beauty even when she was fifteen. Instead of a pretty girl, she was now a beautiful woman.

But Sarah Williams was a true beauty, for her heart was as comely as her outward appearance and made the most lasting impression on those who came to know her. There was a reason she was the only one to defeat the labyrinth in over a millennia, but she assumed it was her determination and nothing more. Although the saying has been trivialised, beauty comes from within; otherwise it is merely a mask to cover an ugly soul.

Once upon a time, she had been without a mask in a sea of disguised faces.

No one knew about it. She made a few close friends over time, but not a word passed her lips about those thirteen hours spent in the Underground. And she planned for it to stay that way. Not a single person would believe her, and she had no intentions of being sent to a mental hospital.

"Was it all a dream?" Sarah whispered into the breeze. "It all seems so...so far away..."

The wind increased and tugged at her hair a little harder. She looked up and saw dark clouds rolling in on the horizon, veiling the deep blue sky like a devouring grey mouth open wide to swallow the heavens. She grinned at her active imagination and closed her eyes to better feel the sensation of the crisp air blowing on her skin. It sent goosebumps up her bare arms. She wore jeans, a v-neck white t-shirt, and white flats: all simple yet good enough to visit one of her favourite places in the world.

When Sarah opened her eyes again, she whipped her head around at the sound of something more than the wind. Almost like...almost like the flapping of wings. But all she saw were green trees dotted with spring blossoms.

Another shudder rippled through her and she slid her feet back into her shoes. It was time to go. Her dad, stepmother, and favourite little brother would be waiting for her at the house. As she walked down the path to leave, she glanced one last time over her shoulder as if expecting to see something.

But no. No white barn owl watched her this time. It could only be relief that settled deep in her chest, certainly not combined with a hint of disappointment.

* * *

><p>"Sarah! You're home!"<p>

Toby's blonde head appeared around the corner as Sarah lugged her bag into the house she once called home and closed the door. He bounded towards her and threw his arms around her waist.

"Whoa, whoa! Careful there, kiddo, or you'll knock me clean over!"

He laughed and tilted his head back to look up at her smiling face. "I missed you. You're going to stay here forever right?"

She set her bag down and ran her fingers through his fine blonde curls. She only planned to stay for the weekend like she did now and again after moving to a bigger city to follow her dreams, but Toby was still a child and hoping for things to go back to the way they used to be.

_I was that way once_, she thought. _It took almost losing him to show me otherwise_.

Her thoughts were taking dangerous turns again, so she placed them in an old drawer in the back of her mind to focus on Toby. "Sorry, Toby, but just for a few days," she said.

Before she could say more, Karen approached with her perfectly coiffed blonde hair, a string of pearls round her neck, and a welcoming smile.

"Sarah, glad you made it here safe," said Karen.

Neither of the women was very affectionate towards one another, but they at least didn't have the permanent tension in the air that was normal when Sarah was fifteen. "How about you help me set the table for dinner?"

Sarah agreed and followed Karen to the dining room with the little fair-haired boy tagging along at her heels. Even though he still had frustrated her at times, fighting for his freedom because of her own stupidity had given her a special affection for the tyke.

The best things in life were the ones worth fighting for, and whatever is fought for becomes dearer because of the labour. Sarah understood this, but little did she realise how much deeper this truth would be learned in a short matter of time.

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><p><strong>Note:<strong> It is only just the beginning...

Chaps will be longer than this because this is just the setup. Review if you so choose! I'll try to post Chapter One in the next week or less! (P.S. I'm not British but I spell like them. Probably from reading almost 100% English literature growing up. So if you're like, "She's got these spelled all wrong!" it's most likely the British spelling.)


	2. A Kind of Pale Jewel

**Chapter One: A Kind of Pale Jewel**

**...**

The family sat together and ate dinner with forks clinking against their plates and idle conversation humming. Sarah sighed inaudibly when the customary questions finally slipped out. They asked her how the play writing was going. How was work? Did the last play she wrote get good reception from her professors? What was her schedule like? Sometimes she just wished someone would ask her questions she'd never gotten before about things that didn't concern school or work. But she answered dutifully.

Until the dreaded question came out of Karen's mouth like it did every time she visited.

"So...any men in your life, Sarah?"

Sarah dropped her fork slowly to her plate as she fumbled for a response that might quickly divert the woman.

Once Sarah was sixteen, Karen had pressed her about her love life—or lack thereof more often than not. It wasn't as though she hadn't ever dated, because she'd gone on multiple dates, but only one guy had become an official boyfriend. And that had ended in disaster almost a year ago.

For eight months Christopher Moseley and she had dated, content and enjoying the progressing relationship until Chris decided to abruptly end it with only a vague reason as to why. A couple weeks later she found out it was because of another woman who he jumped into a relationship with only a few days after they separated. Her heart was truly and fully broken for the first time since her mother left, and the pain took months to heal; even now it sent a dull ache through her chest. She didn't love him anymore, but the betrayal still hurt.

It was also a topic she avoided like the plague because she hated thinking about why they never held her interest or felt right to her. Even Christopher had lasted past the first couple months because she just wanted to be with someone and give it a try, which she only admitted once it was over. Why was there not a single guy she was genuinely drawn to? She did not like that question or trying to answer it because she honestly couldn't figure it out. A strange feeling sat like a rock in her stomach.

"Uh, no, there's not anyone like that," she answered after a pause. "Toby, how about we spend some time at the park tomorrow?"

"Sarah! You're changing the subject," said Karen.

"Yes, I am. And there's nothing wrong with that. Like I said, there isn't anything to talk about."

"But, dear, I think you really need a man in your life. I think it would be good for you to go on dates and have fun and find that special someone."

This sounded suspiciously familiar. Sarah breathed deep as she tried to stave off a rush of memories that always tried to overwhelm her in this house. Amazing and terrible things had happened here. She already couldn't look at her parents' room the same. Too much had taken place in that room...

"Thank you but I'm okay with my life right now and focusing on other things."

Her father finally had pity and changed the topic. While the others chatted or ate in silence, Sarah didn't find anything to say the rest of the meal.

* * *

><p>Later in the evening Sarah trudged up the stairs to her old bedroom. They had left it practically the same as when she moved out. The same pale comforter, curtains, and small vanity. When she returned from the labyrinth, she had begun to put away possessions of her childhood including some of the stuffed animals and certain items that were a stark reminder to the incident; like the little maze and a couple posters. That Escher poster definitely had come down. She couldn't lie in her bed trying to fall asleep and see that image in front of her without reliving the desperate moments in that outlandish room trying to save baby Toby.<p>

It wasn't that she did not enjoy her journey through the fantastical Underground, but it left a mark on her. There were moments she remembered with great joy, others with wistfulness, a few with amusement, and then there were some that cast a shade of sorrow on her. Those were the ones she did not fully understand.

A certain man was at the centre of those memories.

The King of the Goblins.

Sarah pulled dark strands of ebony from her face with a few pins and settled softly onto the bed with her bare feet wriggling in the carpet.

As much as she tried to put him out of her mind, his memory could not be shaken. A small part of her didn't want those memories to disappear and another part of her said it would be best to forget him forever. She had her friends Hoggle, Didymus, and Ludo. She had her time in the Underground to remember. She had Toby back.

So why did it make her sad?

She jumped and stifled a yelp when someone knocked on the door. Internally she was relieved they had interrupted her train of thoughts, a path they had rarely taken since she was fifteen.

Toby poked in his head before she said anything about coming in. He grinned and jumped onto the bed beside her with his feet hanging off.

"What are you doing?" he asked.

"Just thinking."

"Thinking? That's boring," he said. "Mom says I have to go to bed soon. Will you tell me a story before I do? Your stories are always the best!"

Sarah laughed and laid back on the bed. Toby snuggled closer. Although he loved to do typical boyish activities, he never seemed to tire of the stories she told him full of adventure and danger and triumph. There was one story that she had never told him before but was beginning to wonder if it wouldn't be such a bad idea. It _had_ been seven years.

"There was a land far away from here where there lived a little boy..."

_Not yet_, she thought.

* * *

><p>That night Sarah shivered in her sleep and tossed in the small bed with strange dreams holding her down from consciousness or rest.<p>

_A rush of wings. Glitter. Strange laughter._

"_I've brought you a gift"_

"_What is it?"_

_A small globe bright and clear._

"_It's a crystal, nothing more, but if you turn it this way and look into it, it will show you your dreams. But this isn't a gift for an ordinary girl who takes care of a screaming baby. Do you want it? Then forget the baby."_

_The entrancing voice thrummed in her mind and all around her. The shining crystal sphere sat before her, and she stared deep into its depths until everything else faded away and it filled her vision._

Her eyes flew open.

Thunder rattled the window pane. Lightning lit the room.

She sat up in bed half-expecting to see a tall dark figure standing in the bedroom. Her pulse raced, and she clutched handfuls of blankets till her knuckles whitened. But no. She was alone. The ominous clouds from the afternoon had finally rolled in with a storm and loosed it over the town.

Rain pattered against the window as she stumbled out of bed and walked towards it. Another peal of thunder boomed overhead, and she flinched.

No strange owls pecked at the glass either.

"Oh, what is wrong with me?" she grumbled. She stretched on her tiptoes before turning around to go back to bed when something on the vanity caught her eye in another flash of white lightning. Her body froze. The sensation was like a bucket of ice thrown over her that trickled down her spine.

The night she returned from the labyrinth she put away the red leather book into a drawer and never took it out again until she moved. Then she packed it away with other keepsakes to take to her new apartment because as much as she tried, she could not leave it behind.

It should have been in a box in her apartment.

It sat on the vanity.

Another bout of bright light illuminated the bedroom. She moved away from the window and cautiously approached the book.

"How...how did _you_ get here?" she whispered.

She reached out a trembling hand to touch it yet snatched it away before her fingers brushed the smooth surface. The gold lettering glimmered. Most adults would pass it off as just an odd coincidence and fall back asleep, but Sarah was not just anyone: she knew bizarre things could be exactly what they seemed. A particularly loud roll of thunder made her jump.

"Get a hold of yourself," she muttered. "It's nothing. No big deal."

Try as she might, Sarah didn't get another wink of sleep the rest of the night, and the storm continued long into the early morning.

* * *

><p>The presence of the red book seemed less threatening in the warm light of day; not to mention, its odd appearance had driven the unsettling dreams out of her mind. Sarah glanced at it before hurriedly dressing and slipping past and down the stairs.<p>

It wasn't long before she climbed into the car with Toby, Karen, and her dad. The four of them spent most of the day together going out to lunch and walking downtown on that lovely spring afternoon. It was when they waltzed into a small shop full of trinkets and other assortments of wares that Sarah drew back and watched the couple and their son interact as they perused the shelves.

She smiled at the scene. Then a subtle pang stirred inside. A sense of not belonging coursed through her as she stood apart and observed, and it was not unfamiliar. Often, she took a step back and felt separate from so much of the world, and she always wondered if it was because she was one of the few who knew there was another world beyond this one just out of sight. After such an adventure, how did one simply go back to normal life?

You didn't. A drop of sadness rippled across her heart. No matter what she did or how she tried to lose herself in society and normal living, nothing worked to take away the feeling of...of...

Longing.

She tucked a strand of dark hair behind her ear and turned away pretending to examine some colourful blown glass on a shelf.

Longing.

But for what?

"Sarah! Sarah, look."

Toby called out to her and she went to see whatever he was trying to show her. She hid the real emotions churning in her belly so that no one would ask or sense anything amiss. It worked, and they soon tired themselves out on their feet before returning home.

However, that evening she could no longer run away. Even as her feelings felt as convoluted as the labyrinth she once journeyed through, they were all brought to the surface when Toby found the book.

He was ready to ask for a story before bed again and spotted the little red book sitting on the old vanity. Snatching it in his hand, he hurried to find Sarah.

"Sarah, can you read this to me?"

Sarah felt all the blood leave her face when she saw what he was holding. She nearly suspected the goblins themselves were afoot with mischief and interfering in her life.

Toby looked down at it again. "What's it say? Lab...lab..."

"The Labyrinth."

Sarah hadn't read the book since she had been to the real place. It became a faint reflection after living it in reality. She had her memories—more vibrant and solid—rather than words on a page that paled in comparison.

But Toby pleaded with big blue eyes. After taking a few deep breaths, she conceded. He had no idea what it meant and that he had become a part of the grand tale, so she would humour his childlike curiosity and finally share—in some way—the story that changed her life.

"Come on," she said and led him upstairs. She went to his bedroom rather than hers to avoid making things too similar to those strange days.

Once they settled in, she opened the book and decided to enjoy herself. No matter how odd it was to think of the characters so personally, it was still her favourite book, and secretly she was glad to relish it again after so many years.

"Once upon a time, there was a beautiful young girl whose stepmother always made her stay home with the baby. The baby was a spoiled child. He wanted everything for himself, and the girl was practically a slave. But what no one knew was that the Goblin King fell in love with her and gave her certain powers."

Her voice caught in her throat. No. It couldn't be. _No_, she thought, _what happened wasn't exactly like this book. Things were different_.

"Sarah?" said Toby. "Why'd you stop?"

"Oh. Sorry. So one night, when the baby had been particularly cruel to her, she asked the goblins for help."

Toby could hardly keep his eyes open by the time they finished. His pale curls tickled her cheek as she squeezed him with one last hug and tucked him under the covers of his bed. When she reached to turn off the light, his quiet voice called out to her.

"I'm glad she saved the baby. It was pretty silly to ask goblins to take him away 'cuz everyone knows you can't trust goblins. But I don't think the king would've turned him into one."

Sarah eyed the little boy cautiously. "And why is that?"

"Just because. He was sneaky and liked to play tricks, but he didn't hurt anybody."

"Well, maybe he wouldn't have," she whispered. "Goodnight Toby."

"G'night. Thanks for reading the story to me. It was the best."

She flipped off the light and closed the door. It clicked shut, and she leaned against it for a few moments as a whirlwind of thoughts swirled around her like a flurry of snow. Then she hurried to her room and grabbed a pair of sneakers and a jacket which got thrown on haphazardly.

Her dad and Karen saw her walking towards the front door, and her dad called her name. He came out from the kitchen when she stopped.

"Honey, where are you going?" he asked.

"For a walk. I just need to get outside for a little while." Sarah didn't want to tell them the real reason: she needed to think about certain things without interruption or blatant reminders all around her.

"Oh. Well...all right." He touched her shoulder and smiled. "Don't be gone too long. It's getting dark and looks like it might start raining again, so maybe you should take an umbrella."

"I'll be fine," she said with a shrug. "A little rain doesn't intimidate me."

Karen opened her mouth to protest, but Sarah waved at them and hurried out the door. The crisp spring air struck her as soon as she was outside with its earthy fragrance and a faint whiff of blossoms. She zipped her coat up against the evening chill and hopped down the steps. When she glanced up at the sky it certainly did look like it could rain at any moment.

"Oh well," she murmured. "I have to get out of there even if it means coming back looking like a drowned rat."

Toby's words were ringing in her head. _He was sneaky and liked to play tricks, but he didn't hurt anybody_. The more she thought about it, the more she realised an eight year old had seen more than she had. Being full of dramatics and assumptions at fifteen, Sarah had made the story the way she thought it should be. That made the Goblin King the villain, and yet the longer she considered the past events, her matured mind revelled at incredible changes a shift in perception granted.

It was time. It was time to finally give in to the thoughts about _him_. It was time to stop running away.

He had been dismissed from her mind and memory most of the time because seeing him in a simple villainous light was easier than trying to understand what really went on. She'd been running from the truth and how it cast light on the events of the past. And she felt less guilt thinking of her rejection of his offers if she thought of it only as another ploy.

"I wish I could remember better," she muttered as her feet hit the sidewalk at a quick yet steady pace as she roamed through the neighbourhood. "So much. There's so much I didn't understand, but I was so sure I did then. It all got twisted to my expectations."

Her heart stuttered. Expectations. _I am exhausted from living up to your expectations of me_.

"It can't be possible. It just can't."She ran a frustrated hand through her hair and kicked at a pebble in her path. _If only I had listened better. Now I can hardly remember what he said to me. I was so caught up in trying to recite the right words from the book that I completely missed what he was trying to say. Could I have been wrong about him?_

The gloom thickened overhead as the sun set on the horizon. The dark grey clouds were lined with the last glimmer of gold and a touch of purple. Small raindrops began falling. Sarah did not pay any attention for she was so caught up in her dangerous thoughts that nothing else registered.

_No, I wasn't wrong. He _was _the villain of the story. He was_.

Even to herself, she didn't sound so convinced because ever-present were Toby's words, and those she could not argue with. Not once had the king harmed anyone even though he threatened to turn the baby into a goblin. Would he have done it? Sarah was certain of it then, but now...

A bit of shame reddened her cheeks when she considered the logic that escaped her then but now made sense. She _was_ the one who asked Toby to be taken away. Granted, she had not thought it actually would work. So maybe the King of the Goblins hadn't been as terrible as she thought, intimidating in his gothic garb without actually performing anything terrifying. Lacing threats into his words without actually physically hurting anyone. What kind of wicked tyrant threatened his subjects with a Bog of Eternal Stench anyway? Not a ruthless one. A mischievous and impish one, certainly.

But someone had to be the antagonist of the story. Sarah had made sure he was it. He did seem to relish playing the part though.

"He seemed so serious. Could he have just been playing along all that time? No! I couldn't have been so wrong. Ugh! I hate this!"

The rain deepened and fell thudding all about her. She pulled her hood over her head and looked around, realising she had gone further than she thought. "Just my luck I'd get lost on a night like this!" She shivered from the cold and folded her arms over her stomach.

A prickly feeling of being watched tingled on her neck.

Sarah whirled around, but no one was behind her. Everywhere she looked she only saw trees and houses and cars parked along the road. It seemed she was the only one out in the dreary weather. But the sensation could not be shaken.

She hurried down further under a large tree whose boughs hung far over the sidewalk and into the road. A rustle in the leaves above made her head jerk upwards.

A black raven flapped its wings on a high branch and croaked at her.

"Just a bird."

_Why am I disappointed it's not an owl?_ she yelled at herself internally. _Don't be silly_.

At first she brushed it off. Then the creeping sensation crawled up her spine. She looked up at the raven again and suddenly found its beady eyes a little too intent on her. It almost seemed like its eyes weren't black, although it was difficult to say for sure with all the deep shadows.

It was time to hurry home. The night had been strange enough. She didn't need strange birds watching her too.

Sarah dashed back into the rain and ran all the way back to the house, her hood falling away in the process so by the time she hurried under the porch her hair was plastered in wet strands to her head. Her clothes were drenched. She took off her sneakers at the door to avoid Karen's wrath but paused on the second shoe when she heard a muted croaking sound. To her horror, that same raven had flown after her and sat in one of the trees out front still keeping an eye on the young woman.

In a moment of panic she flung the shoe at the bird.

It didn't quite make it, but the thing squawked as if she had hit it. "Go away!' she yelled. She jerked off her other shoe and threw it too. It nearly nailed the winged menace. Yet the raven only hopped to another branch.

Sarah suddenly regretted flinging her shoes away, but she shrugged and hurried inside. It did make her feel slightly chagrined for behaving like that towards a bird.

Sure enough, her dad and Karen saw her soaked state and had to give their shocked responses and chiding remarks for staying out in the rain so long, but it rolled right off of her. They gave her a large fluffy blue towel and sat in the living room together for a while before Sarah finally warmed up and felt sleep heavy on her lids. She yawned and bid them all goodnight.

Once she changed into comfortable pj's, she flopped on the bed and snuggled into the blankets while listening to the song of the rain striking the roof and the window.

"I wish..." Her whisper sounded loud in the quiet room as if the air even stilled to listen. "I wish...I wish I could remember all those things the Goblin King said to me. I want to remember."

She promptly fell asleep.

* * *

><p><strong>Fun Fact<strong>**:**Do you know Michael Jackson was considered for the Goblin King part before David Bowie? Bahahahaha! Can you imagine? (Aagh! This auto-fixing is killing me. It won't let me put more than one ?. Stickler...)

**...**

**A/N**: Thanks to all who are reading! I'd appreciate knowing what you think so far :). Next chapter, we meet a very mysterious character and things just continue to get weirder. And if you're confused about anything, go ahead and ask although it'll probably get answered somewhere along the way. Just building it all up for some important events, mwaha...


	3. You've Run So Long

**A/N: **Thanks to all who've been reading (even though it's only at chap. 1 so far)! Just hang in there for all the good stuff ;). It's coming, I promise! In the meantime, Sarah meets a mysterious person. Who might he be?

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter Two: You've Run So Long<strong>

**...**

**...**

**...  
><strong>

"_What have you done that's generous?"_

"_Everything! Everything that you wanted I have done. You asked that the child be taken. I took him. You cowered before me. I _was_ frightening. I have reordered time. I have turned the world upside-down, and I have done it all for _you_! I am exhausted from living up to your expectations of me. Isn't that generous?"_

"_Through dangers untold and hardships unnumbered, I have fought my way here to the castle beyond the goblin city, for my will is as strong as yours. And my ki..."_

"_Stop! Wait! Look, Sarah. Look what I'm offering you: your dreams."_

"_And kingdom is great."_

"_I ask for so little. Just let me rule you, and you can have everything that you want."_

_Her own voice mumbled about the next line._

"_Just fear me, love me, do as I say, and I will be your slave."_

_The voices faded and a view of the vast labyrinth opened before her with all its walls and doors and corners. It glowed under a morning sun. At the centre stood the castle with its high towers. _

"_Sarah," the same voice whispered on the air. "Sarah..."_

Sarah jolted awake. Her hand flew to her chest where she felt her heart racing, and a soft sheen of sweat glistened on her pale skin. The words of the dream had been so vivid as though she had listened to it play out for a second time rather than reliving a memory within her mind; however, the images were hazy just like in the recesses of her mind pushed aside with seven years.

Then she remembered the words she whispered into the dark night air before she fell asleep: _I wish I__ could remember all those things the Goblin King said to me_.

But who had granted that wish? She glanced around the room and realised morning was just dawning upon the world with a soft gold touching the east and the rest of the sky pale grey like the feathers of a dove. Drops of water lingered on the window pane, turning to gold crystals as the sun swelled above the edge of the world. She walked towards it to watch as night transformed into another day.

Where her heart had been racing from the troubling dreams, it now seemed to utterly stop. She stumbled away from the window and leaned against the wall trying to catch her breath.

A barn owl circled up into the heavens before her very eyes until it disappeared out of sight.

"This is all his doing!" she gasped. "Or...or I..." A new realisation flooded her senses. "Or I want to go back and...and it's beginning to show." Also, she couldn't decide if she'd seen an owl or some other bird flying away that she assumed was an owl because of the dream.

_There's something in me that wants to...go back..._

She buried her face in her hands and moaned. "I'd rather a real labyrinth that I can see than trying to navigate the labyrinth inside me right now."

Since it technically was morning and there was no possible way to go back to sleep, she pulled her long hair back into a ponytail and padded downstairs. She decided to cook breakfast for everyone while they still slept. A genuine smile touched her lips. She enjoyed doing things for people, especially good surprises.

Plus it helped distract her from stranger things going on in her mind and in her heart. Things she could not share with anyone else. But in her mind she pondered the meaning of the words echoing beyond her dreams: _Just fear me, love me, do as I say, and I will be your slave. _

* * *

><p>By the end of the day, Sarah packed her things back in her bag and prepared to say her goodbyes to the family. Toby was always the hardest since he never wanted her to leave, and somewhere inside it broke her heart a little to tear herself away.<p>

Her dad wrapped her in a warm hug. "Goodbye sweetheart. I'm glad you came for the weekend. You're always welcome here and don't forget it."

"Thanks," she said. Ever since her mom left, their relationship had changed and she was hardly mentioned as soon as he married Karen. There was a quiet understanding of sorts. They were not best friends, of course, but he tried to be a good father to her even though he had gotten fairly caught up in his new family and trying to blend them together. "I love you."

"I love you too."

Karen gave her a quick hug as well. Toby leaped into her arms and clung to her neck.

"And I love you," she said to the little bundle in her grip.

"I love you so so much," he sighed. "Do you really have to go?"

"Yes, Toby, I have to. But I'll come again, kiddo, don't worry. Oh! I've got something for you." She pulled out a worn leather red book and handed it to him. "I think you should have it. It was my favourite book and I'd like it to be yours too." While cooking a breakfast feast of eggs, bacon, and pancakes that morning she decided the Labyrinth should go to Toby. It felt the right thing to do.

"Wow! Thanks Sarah! It's already my new favourite."

With one last wave and another round of farewells, Sarah stuffed her bag in her car and headed back to the place that had become her new home. The drive was just a couple hours, so it wasn't long before she saw city lights passing by and familiar street signs along the road. Her apartments finally came into view.

They were newer, modestly built, and looked almost like town-houses since it wasn't some skyscraper in a big city with a giant apartment complex. Her and her friend Amber shared a place on the second story. Amber had become her friend in their last year of high school, and then they both decided to attend the same college; so now they lived together as they sought out new futures and pursued precious dreams. Amber had been part of the drama club in high school where they first met. Now she continued to pursue theatre while Sarah pursued her goal of becoming a playwright, so of course Amber kept trying to persuade her friend to make sure she wrote a part for her in every script. Sarah had immense creativity and Amber had an immense personality.

As soon as Sarah stepped through the door, Amber burst out of her bedroom.

"Sarah! I've been waiting forever for you to get home!" she cried. Her smile positively radiated sunshine itself. Amber had golden waves of hair, fair skin, and blue eyes. She was very lovely and willowy with an extremely expressive face. "I have some wonderful news that I could hardly contain waiting for you to get here."

Sarah laughed and dropped her things on the ground by the couch. "Well? Let me hear it. I wouldn't want you to burst."

Amber leaned against the kitchen countertop. "You remember Michael?"

How could Sarah forget Michael when Amber couldn't stop mentioning him the last three weeks? "Uh...yes."

"He asked me out!" Amber's shrill squeal made Sarah wince. "We're going on a date!"

"Yes, I figured that's what going out meant."

"Sarcasm," Amber mumbled as she rolled her eyes. "But really. Isn't that exciting?"

"Yes, it definitely is," said Sarah as she moved forward and threw her arms around her dear friend. "I really am happy for you! It's what you've been hoping for for a couple weeks now. Just don't panic or act weird just because you're nervous! It'll be fun."

"You're such a great friend," said Amber. She tossed her shoulder-length locks over her shoulder. "Now that we've got the incredible news out, how was your weekend with the family?"

And so they fell into their routine and Sarah momentarily forgot about her old adventures and a certain king who had been on her mind.

But that was not to last for long.

* * *

><p>It wasn't until after Amber began dating Michael that things got a bit strange.<p>

Their first date left Amber gushing about how wonderful it was, how wonderful _he_ was, and how they were set for their second date. The second went just as well and that was when some of their other friends decided to plan a group night. They set the date for a friend's place with a large yard on a Saturday evening eating lots of food, watching movies, and whatever mischief they might get their hands on.

It was a temperate spring night with a clear sky and a warm breeze. Sarah threw on a flowing white skirt that hit above her knees, a draping olive green top, and topped it off with gold dangling earrings that glinted with captured sunlight. Amber called out from the living room that it was time to go, so the girls hurried down the stairs to the car.

Some lights were strung over the porch, lawn chairs sat scattered around, pitchers of colourful drinks waited on a table, and more plates of food filled the rest of the table the more people who arrived. It wasn't long before they were all laughing and chatting while stuffing themselves full of good food. Sarah's friend Aaron was in the middle of a hilarious account when a few more people showed up. Two of them she knew, but the third she had never seen before; and she certainly would have remembered.

Her pulse sped up a bit at the sight of the guy.

His hair was a shade of ebony, truly black as midnight unlike hers which was a rich dark shade of brown, and his skin was golden like he had been in the sun often. He was average height with an average build, but his bare arms hinted at a lean muscular frame. The guy was definitely attractive in a certain way. But his eyes were what made her stare a little: they looked almost golden. She assumed it was the lighting, but as soon as they fell on her she felt ensnared.

A round of greetings circled, and the guys he came with introduced him.

"Oh, and this is our new friend Bran. We met a few weeks ago and thought he should meet everybody."

He nodded to the group after he received a welcome greeting. Sarah noticed his piercing eyes linger on her longer than necessary, and apparently Amber noticed as well because Sarah felt a sharp elbow nudging her. She cringed. When Amber got onto a kick, it was like trying to stop a freight train.

And of course the new guy grabbed a chair and sat one person away from Sarah.

Aaron, of course, had to finish his grand story and had everyone in stitches again. Apparently bizarre events happened around him in common places like the grocery store. Once he finished, Sarah sensed a pair of eyes on her and glanced to her left only to catch Bran looking at her. When he saw her gaze turn to him, he smiled and leaned forward.

"I'm Bran, as you obviously heard," he said. "What's your name?"

"Sarah," she answered abruptly. Maybe a little too abruptly. Why was her pulse still running a race? It might have been because of a slight accent to his voice that sounded European of some sort.

"Sarah. I've always liked that name. You know everyone here?"

"Yes, actually, except for you."

A moment of dreaded awkward silence passed. She felt Amber's elbow in her arm again, and she subtly leaned more to her left away from the offending body part.

"So what do you do?" she blurted.

"I, uh...I dabble in science I suppose."

"You suppose." She laughed a little. "You aren't sure?"

"Oh I'm sure of what I do, but there isn't a good way to explain it. Science is a passion of mine. What do _you_ do, Sarah?"

The way Bran said her name and the intensity of his gaze on her made her uncomfortable, although she couldn't say why, and she was fairly sure it was more than just being nervous around a good-looking guy. She told him briefly about wanting to write plays or anything for the stage while maybe acting in them on occasion. He took in all the information with polite interest, but whenever she attempted to ask more about him he managed to steer the talk quite skilfully away after giving brief or vague answers. Just as she grew frustrated, Amber and Michael joined in, turning it into a completely different conversation for a while.

They all ended up watching some of the boys play some scattered baseball late into the night. At one point, Bran excused himself to go join them. At first Sarah was kind of embarrassed on his behalf when he fumbled through the game a couple rounds as if he didn't even know the rules, but something must have clicked because by his second turn to bat the clumsiness was gone. The baseball flew towards him. He swung. The ball cracked and soared through the air far over the fence into someone else's yard, as in more than one yard away.

All the other guys gaped like fish the direction it disappeared. Bran smiled a subtle grin of satisfaction and circled the bases—three pillows they laid on the grass. But it didn't end there. When the other three guys were up to bat, the second baseball they got out launched into the air, but Bran leaped up and caught with alarming speed.

Once again everyone sort of stared in awe.

Sarah guessed he might be athletic by his build, but maybe she had stereotyped his love of science to mean he wouldn't be _that_ agile. Right after that amazing catch, his eyes found hers and the corners of his lips turned up a bit.

Yes. Bran was sort of impressing her. Such an interesting person...

Eventually it was time for everyone to head home, and Sarah found herself facing Bran before she could make it to the door. He'd smoothly intercepted her on those quick feet.

"Goodnight Sarah," he said holding her eyes with his golden gaze. "It was a pleasure meeting you and I hope to see you again very soon."

"You too, Bran. Goodnight."

Amber snatched Sarah's arm in hers and waved goodbye to Bran as they left the house. When they were near the car, Amber finally had her say.

"Sarah! Can you believe..."

"No, no I don't want to hear it."

"But come on! He's a pretty good looking guy, you have to admit, and he was very much interested in you, my friend."

Amber hopped into the car and Sarah opened her door. Before she slid in, she looked up and saw Bran watching her as he stood with his new friends on the front lawn. He smiled at her, not really a kind smile but more of a smirk that reminded her of someone else. Chills prickled on her skin.

"I guess he is..."

She did not clarify which part she was answering.

* * *

><p>It was only a few days later that Sarah met the mysterious Bran again, a lot shorter than she expected. She was anticipating it yet dreading it all at once. It deeply confused her. Unfortunately Amber was set on pairing the two up and lured her new boyfriend Michael into the plan.<p>

This time he didn't seem to come off quite so strongly and acted fairly normal for a guy his age.

The more he was around, the less wary she felt and his presence grew commonplace after a couple more weeks. She brushed off her first instincts as silly and girlish and just nerves, and then considered him another friend that became part of the group. And although a couple of her female friends made no secrets about their interest in him, he appeared to be set upon one girl in particular: Sarah Williams.

Where she at first was on guard, she felt flattered by his attentions and admitted to liking them a bit. Whether she liked him as more than a friend was yet to be discovered.

Another odd thing she noticed after a while was the lack of strange dreams and thoughts about the Underground. It was as if returning back to her normal life had silenced that part of her. She didn't know if she was glad about that or not. The Underground had seemed almost a part of who she was, but she wondered if losing that would finally bring a sense of settling in to this world. Maybe she should let it all go...

Michael and Bran came over one night to spend time with the girls. They all made dinner together in the small kitchen—a disaster barely averted when Sarah put a stop to the food fight that almost exploded when Amber smeared some sauce on Michael's face—and enjoyed the Italian fare before whipping up some dessert as well. It was while they were enjoying the delectable chocolate that Amber brought up something Sarah nearly had forgotten.

"You're still going to Jessica's wedding, right?" Amber asked her best friend.

Sarah threw her hands up in the air. "I almost forgot! That's next weekend! Yes, I'm going still, although I guess I'll be the third wheel now."

Amber laughed and shrugged her shoulders. "Sorry about that, but we'll still all have fun like we always do."

Bran leaned forward to rest his elbows on his knees. His black shirt complimented his same shade of hair and golden eyes. She took note that he certainly wore black a lot. He must have known it was a flattering colour for him.

"Well...what if I went with you, Sarah?" he said. "Then it'd be the four of us and you wouldn't have to be the third wheel."

Once her surprise wore off a bit, she looked away with a blush staining her cheeks pink. "Um...I don't know..." she stammered.

"As friends of course," he added with a subtle smirk. "Come on, it'll be fun."

Somehow she found herself agreeing and then wondering why on earth she did. The sardonic tone when he said "as friends" didn't really put her at ease, but she felt a bit pressured with him asking in front of the other two who were so hoping for them to get together; not to mention she didn't enjoy turning people down. Plus, he was handsome and charming: the perfect date for a wedding.

"Then it's settled," said Bran before settling back into the couch. His eyes danced as they lingered on Sarah.

_What did I just do?_ she thought to herself. Christopher really had left a mark if she still was hesitant to even trust guys. Maybe everyone was right: maybe she should consider getting into a relationship again soon.

_But with Bran? Well, who else? He's the only one remotely attractive and intriguing to me. I just don't know..._

The guys left just after eleven in the evening, so Sarah wandered back into her room intending to not come out until the morning. She picked up a brush and stood in front of the mirror on her wall and started running it gently through her long locks. Then she paused as she stared into the green eyes looking back at her. A mirror was once not just a mirror to her.

Events were confusing her lately, and she wished someone was there to talk to about them who also knew all about the labyrinth. Someone she could be completely open with.

It had been a few years since she last called upon some old friends.

"Hoggle?" she whispered into the mirror. "Hoggle...I need you."

A long silence drifted through the minutes.

"Ludo? Ludo, are you there somewhere? Sir Didymus! Any of you? Are any of you there anymore?" Her voice had dropped to a low murmur with the dropping of her heart. The next silence that followed was grieving and terribly long without one single sign of answer.

"I need you! I need all of you right now," she pleaded into the reflective glass. She glanced over her shoulder, but no one else was in the room.

It was as if two paths lay before her: one with her old friends and memories of the labyrinth and staying oddly separated from much of the world or one where the Underground had no place anymore and she chose to move forward with her life with it all forgotten. Right now it felt her feet were already on the second path.

She was alone. Her friends were not responding.

_And they probably never will again. Maybe it really is time for it all to go away._

* * *

><p><strong>AN: **Dun dun dun! Who is Bran? Will Sarah choose to let go of all her old friends and memories of the labyrinth?

Please review :). I would really really appreciate hearing whether or not you guys are even liking the story so far.

And Happy Easter everyone!_  
><em>


	4. Makes No Sense For You

**A/N: **Hello everyone! Here is chapter 3, getting to know Bran better, an important dream, a wedding, and the calm before the storm...

**Enjoy!**

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter Three: Makes No Sense for You<strong>

**...**

**...**

The next day Sarah sat on a bench on campus soaking in the sunshine while scratching some notes down on paper. Every once in a while she would pause and tap the end of the pencil on the notepad with her lips pursed in concentration. Her last class had gotten out about fifteen minutes previous, but there was a nice green lawn with some trees and benches outside the building where she liked to sit and work on projects.

While her brain worked at a particular problem she was having with the plot of the play she'd been writing, she tilted her head back to watch the fluffy white clouds roll by. Other students walked by at random, and she could hear a group of girls chatting and laughing with high voices somewhere far to her right.

A flutter of movement in one of the trees across from her drew her eye. She blinked hard. _You've got to be kidding...Another one?_

A raven sat in the tree. It was like deja vu from the last time one of the birds was watching her, except this instance it was daytime without a storm overhead. But it did seem odd to see another one in a small period when she'd never noticed them before. Although, this one didn't give her the creeps quite like the first, but she thought that might be because of daylight hours.

While she glared at it, a voice addressed her. She dropped her pencil.

"Oh, I'll get it."

It was Bran.

"Hi, Bran. What are you doing here?"

He handed the pencil back to her, his fingers brushing against hers as he gave her a winning smile. "I was spending time with some friends, was going to leave, and spotted you over here by yourself. It looks like you're busy, but I wanted to say 'hi'."

"Well, thanks," she said.

"What is it you're working on?"

"A project for one of my classes. It's a full play that's due by the end of the term. Hey, could I get your opinion on it actually? Your timing is perfect! You don't mind, do you?"

"Of course not," said Bran. His black hair glinted as he settled on the bench beside her, and his fingers toyed with the drawstrings of his sweatshirt. Those strange golden eyes regarded her curiously.

She took a glance at the tree where the raven had been. It still sat there, but in a moment it lifted its wings and flew away. Her unease settled back down again.

"Sorry. Um, thanks again for being my backboard to bounce these ideas off of." She tucked some hair behind her ear and stared down at the page. "So I have my main protagonist and antagonist of course, but I'm having trouble deciding on some motivation for the antagonist since he's supposed to be complex but believable. It's hard not to be cliché. He's angry about something, but I need to figure out why and how. Am I making sense so far?"

Bran smirked and nodded. "Yes, you are. Continue."

He threw an arm over the back of the bench, but fortunately she wasn't too uncomfortable since there was still a wide space between them. After knowing him a couple weeks, it became clear right away that he was a bold sort of man who didn't mind invading people's space, so she grew accustomed to it.

"I'm trying to decide why the antagonist has something against the protagonist, enough that it creates real conflict without being cheesy. So a few possibilities I thought—"

"Revenge."

Sarah's head snapped up. "What?"

"Revenge," he said again. He looked out into the distance as if thinking deep within his mind. "Revenge might seem cliché, but it depends on how you use it really. Revenge is always good motivation to hate someone or to act against them. It drives people. It strengthens them to do what must be done. They become willing to do anything just to get a taste of it and bring about vengeance on the one who wronged them."

Bran's diatribe made the hairs on the back of her neck prickle. It didn't sound like he was suggesting motivation for her story but explaining something from his own life. She studied the hard lines of his face for a long moment.

"Bran...revenge is never right," she said quietly. "It destroys people, especially the ones who are driven by it."

His eyes hardened as he finally looked back at her. "I was just talking about your plot, Sarah. You asked for an opinion, and I say the villain of your play should be motivated by revenge. Taking it a little too seriously, aren't we?"

It did not completely convince her. She'd learned of his interest in science, his desire to discover something no one else ever had, and the reaches of his reserved yet bold personality; but this was a whole new page to his book. It seemed to clash with his behaviour so far.

"I'm trying to help you," he continued with a softer gaze and gentler tone. "If you'd rather I didn't, I'll see you another time and leave you alone."

"No," she said with a shake of her head. "No, it's fine. I do need some advice, and that really was a good idea even though it's used so much."

"It's used so often because it happens so often. Stories are usually based on real experiences or...human...behaviours. Would you like more ideas then?"

"Well, just in case, yes. There's another part about it I was going to throw out there..."

Bran soon was listening intently to her explanation, and she quickly forgot the odd interaction and the raven.

* * *

><p>Two days later, Sarah got fired.<p>

She worked part-time at a large bookstore downtown between classes and had really enjoyed it there, but then she walked in that day and got asked to one of the back rooms by her boss.

Mrs. Steinbeck was a middle-aged woman with streaks of grey in her black hair and sharp features, but she had always been courteous and kind to her employees and customers. She could be stern as well, but Sarah never had any problems with her.

The possibilities ran through her mind when she sat down and waited to hear her fate.

"Sarah...I'm sorry, but...I'm going to have to let you go."

"Wait, what? You mean..."

"Yes. We had to make some lay-offs and after a lot of consideration, two people were picked. I'm sorry, but it's necessary to make some cutbacks."

The words haunted her as she finished her work-day then headed home. She'd worked at the bookstore for little over a year, just getting the job before she and Chris broke up. Going job hunting again did not sound appealing at all, especially with her school schedule being erratic since she had taken classes a little more at leisure. Amber and most of her friends would graduate in a few months—except a few juniors and sophomores—while Sarah took her time to finish. Now she wasn't sure if it had been worth it.

It was like being left behind while the rest of the world moved past.

What next? Would Bran suddenly lose interest in her too? Would she not be able to pay for college tuition? It seemed like every time she tried to get involved in something, it fell apart and she was back in her disconnected state of mind to the world around her.

_At least I still have great friends no matter what. The ones here in the real world..._

And so she worked on some homework while waiting for Amber to get home and tell her the news.

* * *

><p>The days swept past in a flurry, and no job had opened up yet.<p>

She'd avoided seeing Bran until Jessica's wedding, citing busyness as her excuse while in reality she just didn't know how to treat him anymore. His intentions were fairly obvious, but she needed to understand her own first. Plus, her life was falling apart, and it didn't feel like a good time to pursue any romantic roads.

The night before the wedding, Sarah lay in her bed staring up at the ceiling. She left the windows in her room open to let in the cool night breezes that stirred the cream-coloured gauzy curtains.

_Why can't I sleep? It's not like it's _my_ wedding_.

It was another hour of shifting around and turning in a tangle of blankets before she fell into uneasy slumber.

And for the first time in weeks a vivid dream from beyond her own mind came again to her.

_Sarah was in a familiar silvery-white ball gown that swished around her white heels that clacked on the floor, and a crowd of garish masked faces laughed and whirled around her. White chandeliers hung from the ceiling with a glow of pale light, and the whole place reminded her of a wintry scene. But what was she doing here?_

_She was looking for someone._

_The strange revellers paid no mind to her as she tried to push through them. With her head craned and her eyes vigilant, she searched and searched. Time felt stretched and slow like they had been thrown into deep waters as colours swirled around her with the different gowns and suits stark against the white walls._

_She paused when music drifted upon the air with words she finally could make out._

As the pain sweeps through  
>Makes no sense for you<br>Every thrill has gone  
>Wasn't too much fun at all<br>But I'll be there for you  
>As the world falls down<p>

_For some reason the words made her feel sad as they sent a soft ache deep into her heart. The voice stirred something within her, a clear smooth voice that was as pleasant as the music itself._

_But the rest would never be heard because a commotion rippled through the crowd._

_The dream warped. A dark figure shoved its way through the assemblage, toppling some of the masked people and shouting to be heard over the music. She could not quite understand what the booming voice was saying. She did know that something was wrong. She turned to try and hide, but her feet felt like heavy weights. She could barely lift them._

_The whole room tilted and threw them all to the ground groping for something to hold onto. The masquerade was gone, but Sarah still wore the ball gown and heels. She struggled to her feet and grew afraid at the new scene surrounding her._

_Dark walls made of black stones rose up all around like some fortress enclosing her within its barriers. Night had fallen and clouds roiled along the heavens like a shifting mass of anger and shadow seeking to blot out the stars. No living thing was in sight other than her._

_She began to run. As soon as she did, a terror jolted through her for some _thing_ followed from around the corner. It chased her like an ominous, unseen pursuer calling up foreboding and dread around it like gathering clouds. She could sense it just behind but couldn't seem to shake it no matter how fast she ran._

_Her foot caught on a stone. She fell hard to the ground. A silent scream tore from her throat as she whirled around to see what came for her._

_It was a raven._

_She threw her hands up to protect her face as it came swooping towards her._

_Out of the dark clouds came a gleam of white darting like a falling star straight for them. Her green eyes gazed up with hope as it shot as an arrow loosed from the bow. The dark bird hesitated as soon as this new presence burst through the gloom._

_It was an owl. A very familiar owl._

_It spread its broad pale wings and attacked the raven with vehemence, talons clawing and beak bighting at each weakness of the sable bird. There was a fierce tussle and a great noise from the raven like screams of fear and anger._

_The raven gave up._

_It untangled itself from the gleaming talons of its foe and flew away into the night. _

_Sarah had curled up with her knees to her chest on the cold hard ground and closed her eyes and did not see who won the struggle._

_She squeezed her eyes shut tighter when a hand laid gently on her arm._

"_Sarah." The voice was deep and accented. And beautiful. "Sarah."_

"Sarah, time to wake up!"

Sarah took a few moments to adjust to the real world after being startled awake from such a dream. Amber flung open the curtains and jumped onto the bed. Sarah groaned and hid beneath the covers hoping her enthusiastic friend would just go away for a few more hours so she could get some real rest unplagued by fantastical visions that she did not understand.

"Oh, you are not getting out of this," Amber purred with evil intent. She tugged at the blankets and bounced a little on the bed. "We have a wedding to go to! You may not take hours to get ready, but I don't want to chance rushing out the door and barely making it either." She leaned down with a lowered voice. "And you, my dear, have a date."

Sarah forgot her intense desire to sleep and popped out from under her covers. "Date! It's _not_ a date."

"Ha! I knew that would work. And yes, it is. Not official maybe, but you have a date. I'm pretty sure he'll try to make it official soon anyway."

Sarah moaned again and dropped back onto the pillows. After a dream like that one, the last thing she wanted to talk about was Bran being her "date" for the wedding. It seemed so silly now. Why had she agreed, again? Oh yes. He was fairly attractive, a friend, and she didn't want to be a third wheel to her best friend. Plus Sarah had trouble saying no sometimes.

"What's wrong with you?" said Amber. She tucked some pale hair behind her ear and raised a brow at her quiet companion. "Any normal female would be thrilled about this, especially with Bran being so attentive and interested, but you...You're dreading it? I definitely don't understand. You are going to have to explain."

"What is there to explain?" said Sarah. "I'm not sure I'm interested in him like that or if I will be. I just don't know how I feel. Besides, you know very well that I'm not normal."

They laughed together.

Amber got up from the bed. "What is it you don't like about him? That's what I don't get."

"Well..." Sarah had difficulty finding the right words. "It doesn't feel right, I guess. There is something about him, like it's under the surface, and I can't quite figure out what it is or why it bothers me. I want to say 'yes' and go out together, but on the other hand I'm really hesitant."

"Hm. Do you realise you say something like that about every guy that you've gone on a date with or about Chris, your only boyfriend? None of them seem to be right to you. You know what I think? I think you must be interested in someone else."

Sarah laughed and slid out of bed. It was an amusing idea, but suddenly she thought maybe it wasn't so far-fetched.

_Oh no._..

One thing she would grudgingly admit to herself was that a certain tall, blonde, magical individual had incited a definite schoolgirl crush in those days. Of course she considered it part of the distraction then, but it had been there. Especially when that lovely dream had nearly worked too well on her...

"I'm right, aren't I?" Amber cried. She pointed an accusing finger at Sarah and raised her chin. "That look. It looks like you're thinking about _him_ all of a sudden."

"No, Amber, it's not that sort of look. It reminded me of something else. Well, are we going to get ready or what?"

"Of course. Breakfast first though."

"Agreed."

"Last one to the kitchen makes the waffles!" Amber yelled as she darted out the door.

Sarah rushed after, yelling without thinking: "That's not fair!"

* * *

><p>The guys arrived a few hours later to pick them up, dressed in collared shirts with ties and slacks and looking sharp. Bran wore ironed black—nothing surprising—with a blood-red tie. He also did not hide his appreciative appraisal of Sarah once she glided down the steps behind Amber. Amber had gone with a spring green, but Sarah chose a lavender dress that enhanced the fairness of her skin and the rich shadows of her hair. A rosy tint in her cheeks when she saw Bran's appreciation complimented her ensemble even more. The dress was of a light, flowing material that fitted at the waist and swirled around her legs until it brushed her knees. It really was one of her favourites. It almost made her feel like a fairy.<p>

_But fairies aren't actually very nice. They bite_, she reminded herself. _Well, I might bite too if provoked_.

Her mind drifted back to the nightmare that somehow transformed into a dream. Could it be her own mind conjuring images after being troubled by the strange raven eyeing her back at her family's house? If only she understood what it meant, because she knew it had to have some significance. The raven and the owl. It gave her a sense of foreboding. Like a warning of things to come.

"You look...breathtaking," Bran said with a grin.

"Thank you," she said, silently noting the fact that they clashed horribly. Not as if she would've planned to coordinate, thanks anyway.

The drive to the wedding was a bit too quiet for comfort. Sarah slid out of the car as soon as they parked at their destination.

It was an outdoor wedding with white chairs set on the grass, purple and yellow flowers wrapped around a lattice arch and placed on the end chairs, and white awnings set up around tables for the reception with streaks of purple muslin floating down to the ground. It was all very beautiful and smelt of flowers. They set their wedding gifts on the appropriate table stacked with other presents and found some seats in the middle, not too close yet not too far.

"You did a fine job of matching," Amber laughed softly at Sarah whose lavender dress nearly matched the lilac hues of the décor.

"So I did."

Bran leaned towards her. "But I'm glad you did wear it. That colour looks quite fetching on you."

Another blush darkened her cheeks. _Fetching? Sometimes he almost sounds archaic the way he talks. Sort of like..._She bit her lip and closed her eyes for a moment while trying not to think of _him. _Now was really not a good time, especially while at a wedding of all things. But it was nearly impossible after his reappearance in her dreams. And what a reappearance it was, literally swooping in to save the day.

That tingling sense of foreboding hovered in the back of her mind again. Was something about to happen?

_Of course there is_, she chided herself. _A wedding is about to happen. Don't go thinking things like that. All of that is over, remember?_

Bran was sitting rather close. She spared a glance at him out of the corner of her eye as she tried to subtly lean the other way. He was watching some of the other guests, but a slight shift of his lips looked as though he was fighting a smile.

"Sarah," he said, rounding on her, "there was something I wanted to ask. Just something I've been thinking about."

"O-okay," she stammered.

His strangely coloured eyes bored into her with unwavering intensity. "What are your dreams?"

"Dreams?" Her voice wavered at the startling topic. That was certainly not what she thought he would ask, but this could very well be worse. It seemed outlandish, but could he know about the dream?

"You know, your dreams in life. What do you want most, Sarah?" said Bran with pronounced enunciation of each word. His voice had lowered to an intimate murmur that sent shivers down her spine.

"Bran...I'm not sure now is a good time," she whispered, although she did look him in the eye even if it felt like waves rushing to overwhelm her. "We might be friends, but I don't even know you very well. I consider that some pretty personal stuff. Don't be offended, it's just..."

"Personal," he finished for her. He nodded and relaxed back in the chair. "Just thought I'd ask. I'm curious about people's dreams. What motivates them. What they want out of life."

A heavy quiet fell between them, so Sarah internally rejoiced with relief when the ceremony began a few minutes later.

The music played, the bridesmaids and groomsmen walked down the aisle, and the bride herself appeared at the end on the arm of her father. Jessica glowed with happiness as she glided down the grass towards her future husband, and Sarah admired the beauty of the expression with a bit of wistfulness. The words passed right over her while she studied the faces of the couple who gazed at one another with a love that was deep yet hesitant and passionate yet nervous as they took that leap into a life together. Sarah loved weddings. She didn't mind admitting to being a romantic. She found genuine love to be a beautiful thing.

Then the vows arrived. Here she really listened, and that is when the world seemed to contort all around her like some force trying to pull her out of it.

"I, Jarred, take you, Jessica, to be my beloved wife, to have and to hold you, to honour you, to treasure you, to be at your side in sorrow and in joy, in the good times, and in the bad, and to love and cherish you always. I promise you this from my heart, for all the days of my life."

To honour, love, and cherish.

_Just fear me, love me, do as I say, and I will be your slave._

Sarah clutched her hands together so tightly that they trembled. Her whole body stiffened, and her heels dug into the ground. A sensation of falling swept over her, and she closed her eyes to keep it at bay for a few moments more. She suddenly felt lightheaded from the soaring sensations storming in her heart.

After being distracted each time she considered the words and actions of the Goblin King, this time it all finally clicked into place.

To some degree she realised—since she hadn't listened to him very well—he was asking her to stay in the labyrinth with him at that last confrontation and offered a choice between him or saving Toby; but in this very moment, as a woman listening to vows exchanged, the implications struck her full force and stole the breath from her lungs.

The king had nearly been asking for a queen.

He had asked her in his subtle, mysterious ways to stay with him forever: to fear him, love him, do as he said, and he would be her slave. To love him.

Yes, it must have been partially done to deter her from defeating him and the labyrinth, but suddenly the haze cleared and she could see the scene as well as hear every word in crisp, sharp detail. In painful detail. His face so intent yet with a concealed earnestness as he offered up the bright crystal sphere to her with promises of dreams. But in some way he was offering not only that but himself.

_How dare he make me choose! But...he really was asking me to stay, to be with him, even though he knew I would probably reject him._

Sorrow pierced her heart amidst the rushing revelation that reverberated through. It was a difficult truth to swallow now that she understood far better than she once did. She was still a child in many ways at the time, so the seductions he attempted towards the end had slipped right past, leaving only an infatuation in its wake. Old enough to do the right thing and run the labyrinth, yet young enough to not be swayed by a man's enticement.

The odd mixture of feelings coalescing within her threatened to break her calm façade. Revelation of such great depth and meaning stirred up emotions and sensations she could hardly contain. After trying to put it all in the past and leave it behind, even when he wasn't around he refused to be beaten and forgotten.

The King of the Goblins haunted her heart.

* * *

><p><strong>AN**: So we learned more about our mysterious friend Bran, Sarah's life seems to be falling apart, and the calm before the storm has just ended...

Thanks to all you readers for taking the time for this little story of mine. Reviews are very encouraging. Ahem. Just saying...


	5. Such a Fooled Heart

**A/N**: The Goblin King makes his entrance! And what an entrance it is...

Sorry this is a bit shorter, but what happens (or WHO happens) totally makes up for it ;). From this point on, life is never going to be the same for Sarah. Enjoy my dear readers!

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter Four: Such a Fooled Heart<strong>

**...**

**...**

Bran sensed Sarah's peculiar shift in mood and touched her hand. She jerked it away in a panicked reaction. He stared at her in surprise.

"Sarah," he whispered. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing. I'm fine." Again her voice wavered, but she refused to look at him and kept her gaze straight ahead on the happy couple placing the rings on each other's fingers. "Quiet."

His curious gaze lingered on her a little longer before resigning. The rest of the ceremony passed in a haze until Jarred kissed his new bride and everyone sent up a cheer with enthusiastic clapping. In a few more moments everyone was directed to the reception area on the immaculate lawns. Sarah fingered the velvety petals of the purple and yellow flowers beside them as they waited to file out the aisle with the other guests, but she wasn't sure she felt like sticking around to socialise in her current state of mind. A question pulsed over and over again across all thoughts.

_What would I say if he asked me that now?_

She didn't have an answer to that question, but deep in her heart...she wanted to find out.

Bran assertively entwined her arm through his like a gentleman escorting a lady, but he did it with too much force for her to find it endearing. When she tried to pull away he only gripped her tighter.

"Bran," she hissed. "Please let go."

He did not even glance at her, let alone answer. Her second attempt to free herself failed too.

"Bran, let me go right now. I don't care how many people are standing around watching, I will..."

Before she could finish her threat, he loosed her abruptly, but she suspected it wasn't her measly warning that had done the trick. She was greatly confused by his irrational behaviour and planned to point it out as soon as they weren't so close to prying ears or Amber's vigilance. This only added to her unspoken suspicions about him, that instinctive feeling that some unnameable issue was off and would only be revealed by time. A dangerous side to Bran seemed to peer out from its hiding place at last.

Amber and Michael decided to mingle a bit which left Bran and Sarah alone in the midst of a large wedding party. The wind picked up and blew the white and lilac gauzy material hanging around the pavilions into rippling waves. It was all so lovely and yet Sarah no longer could enjoy it.

"Bran," she immediately began, "what is wrong with you? You just...I don't know! You were acting so weird for a second out there." She kept her voice low to avoid attention. They stood towards the edge of the white canopy.

He grabbed a glass of punch and took a long drink.

"That's not alcohol," Sarah muttered.

"I know. Doesn't matter though since alcohol doesn't affect me anyway."

"What?"

Sarah could not decide whether to be upset or more confused.

His eyes seemed to flash with an inner light when he finally looked at her. She physically took a step back. He pressed forward.

"Dear, dear Sarah," he purred. "I am sorry if I've frightened you. May we talk somewhere more private so I can properly apologise and explain myself to you?"

All those senses of foreboding crashed down upon her and screamed at her to stay with lots of eyes and ears around.

"No one's listening so why not here?"

"Sarah, it's very important. There is something serious I wish to ask you and to...to tell to you, and I'd much rather it was in private. We don't have to go very far, just out of hearing of all these people I don't know."

It was the "don't have to go very far" piece that swayed her, and she slowly nodded her head even though a part of her started calling herself 'stupid' for agreeing. He offered a wan smile and beckoned her to follow as they moved away from the pavilions towards some trees off to the side still in sight of all the guests. Her unease lessened when she realised they weren't wandering off where no one could see, although another part of her wondered why she was being so paranoid with a guy who had been kind and attentive all those weeks.

"I am going to be forward with you," said Bran. His black hair stirred in the breeze, and he shoved his hands in his pockets. "If you haven't noticed by now, you really are oblivious, but I guess I will just tell you: I like you. I'm very interested in you, Sarah. Being your friend is wonderful, but it's lacking for me because I hope for so much more."

Sarah's heartbeat thudded in her chest. This profession was not what she was anticipating. And now he watched her expectantly.

"Bran," she said slowly, "your honesty really means a lot to me. Like I said earlier, I don't know you very well." She blew out a breath and shifted her weight uneasily. She really disliked saying 'no' or causing hurt to anyone, but she had learned over time that there were moments you had to wound a heart to do what was best for it in the long run. "I'm flattered, really I am, but...but I don't think of you like that."

His earnestness faded from his countenance like petals wilting under a hot sun. He took a step closer. "Are you willing to give me a chance at least? To find out?"

"No, Bran. I'm sorry."

She didn't know what else to say since there was no easy way to let a guy down, to reject someone. She looked down at her toes and fidgeted with her fingers while waiting for his response.

It was not what she expected either.

Cold, hard fingers gripped her arm. Her head jerked up and glimpsed a fire burning in his eyes, his mouth set in a firm line and his brows drawing down in a determined frown. Before she even knew how to react, he spat words into her face.

"So it seems he still has too much of a hold on you." He bared his teeth. "I was afraid that was the case. I could have given you so much, but you still toss me aside! Well, it seems I'll just have to adjust my plan for you, Sarah Williams."

Before she could scream for help, they disappeared.

When Sarah opened her eyes again, she and Bran stood in a completely different location. The wedding and all the guests were gone. The sun still descended down from the sky, but they now were in the middle of a grassy field with the silhouette of civilisation a few miles away.

Out in the middle of nowhere with no one to help her. The scream that lodged in her throat as the world shifted around her finally tore loose as she stumbled backwards.

Bran advanced. His pace was slow and steady like a fierce animal stalking its prey which was as good as trapped.

"Who are you?" she cried.

Fear wrapped around her heart and squeezed her chest, but Sarah was not one to give up easily. She had faced a horrendous Bog of incredible stench, a goblin army shooting cannons at her, a labyrinthine mess of mazes and traps, a dark oubliette, a nearly fatal betrayal, and then a Goblin King powerful and assertive and alluring with her baby brother in his grasp. No matter who this man was, she was _not_ going to back down. Magic was nothing new to her.

"Out of all the things you could be saying, you ask who I am?" He laughed but it was cruel and harsh. "Although, I suppose strange occurrences no longer are a shock to you. Who am I?"

His back straightened as his posture transformed. He looked a proud lord or king whose presence could not be tainted by lesser folk and gazed down on her like a specimen. The wind had been still till now, starting to rush over the field with loud whispers in the grass. Clouds moved over the sun, clouds she had not thought were there.

The black collared shirt and slacks shifted into robes of pure sable, the red tie becoming a layer of crimson silk at the collar, the only colour in the dark ensemble. Even his short hair lengthened till it almost brushed his shoulders. No mask concealed him anymore. A shadow was cast about him like a cloak that could be felt more than seen by mortal eyes. Bran had turned into a frightful figure of power and darkness.

His voice resonated over the field.

"_I_ am Fiachna, the Raven Mage."

He moved toward her again with greater purpose set in his jaw, but she frantically glanced around for a way out. The field was too large to run to find shelter amidst the trees, the city was too far away to be of any help, and the man she thought was merely that had turned into a magic-wielding creature before her very eyes.

"What are you planning to do with me?" she asked. Her green eyes were wide.

"Oh, wonderful things," he said with a wave of his hand. "But why would I spoil the surprise? You'll have to find out for yourself when we get out of this wretched place. You are coming with me back to my home whether you wish it or not."

He lunged forward. Sarah didn't care about logic at that point. She turned and sprinted through the grass—doffing her heels while he had been speaking so her bare feet could speed her faster over the ground.

This being was not just frightening: he was sinister. She'd faced many a different kind of fearful thing, but something about his gaze—or something missing there—terrified her. There was absolutely no doubt he would either kill her, torture her in horrible ways, or take something even more precious to a woman than pain.

In an instant, Bran—Fiachna appeared right in front of Sarah. In her haste she stumbled and fell back to the ground to avoid falling straight into his arms. As she desperately crawled backwards her mind instantly went out to the only thing that pierced through the haze of fear and imminence. The dream.

"Help!" she screamed at the top of her lungs. "Jareth! _Jareth_!"

Fiachna froze at the cry that flew from her lips. He recoiled visibly and staggered two steps away.

"NO!" he roared.

His hand whipped out and struck in her direction.

Although the hand didn't touch Sarah, her head snapped back as if from a physical blow. When she tried to scream again she couldn't even open her mouth. The mage had done something to silence her.

But the words were already spoken.

A rumble undulated across the ground. Fiachna rushed forward to capture his prey, but it was already too late.

While Sarah still reeled from the blow to her head, a crystal sphere rolled over the green grass in-between her and the black figure. The light reflected off its clear surface in flashes of gold and silver like a beacon of hope.

A crystal of that kind could mean only one thing.

The mage threw up his arms when the sphere darkened and burst into a thousand shards all aimed his direction. They fell to the ground as though bouncing off an invisible wall. His arms fell back to his sides with clenched fists, and he turned his golden eyes on a point behind Sarah with venomous features bent on his foe. An unseen force hit him with such power that he was thrown into the air. Yet as he flew backwards he shimmered and twisted until his body formed into a raven in flight. His flailing arms turned to adept wings pulling on air and black robes metamorphosed to glossy feathers.

Sarah gasped. He had been the raven that stalked her at her old house.

The large bird gave one last cry before turning flight and disappearing into thin air.

Relief washed over Sarah like standing under the warm water in the shower on a cold morning. Her hands trembled and the right side of her face was sore, but she was alive. She barely had time to register what had happened before the complete realisation of who had saved her hit full force. However, this blow did not leave a bruise.

The dream from the night before rushed back to her: the raven pursuing and the owl rushing in to fight him off, clearly a true warning that she had only been partially mindful of. With painful slowness she rose to her feet and steeled herself to turn around and face her rescuer. When she did, her breath caught in her throat and her body stiffened.

A face etched into the eternal recesses of her thought. A voice transcribed, forever haunting her mind.

There he was standing twenty feet behind her.

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><p><strong>AN**: PLEASE review! I need some encouragement to keep going!

Until next time when our favourite character finally makes his full appearance...


	6. It's Not Always Swell

**A/N**: **Important note**! I find myself in need of a little more explanation now that the story really is beginning. I'm really feeling the pressure of the first real reunion between Jareth and Sarah, so please be gracious, haha.

Most importantly I want to point out that I'm a writer who portrays realistic relationships so this won't be an instant "we're in love!" sort of story. I believe in the build up and the careful formation of real love and that these two aren't already madly in love with each other. I may write fantasy, but I always keep the people grounded. There are plenty of other stories I'm sure that bring instant satisfaction to the romantics inside of us, but this is not one of them. Oh, but it will make the end results even more worth it ;)

Like I said before, I've read hardly any Labyrinth stories on here, but I did a little research and discovered some of my ideas were really cliché and overused. It was a little discouraging, but if clichés are done well they don't seem so clichéd, so I'm really hoping nothing in my story seems that way. Yes, I took the Fey route like many others apparently, but it fits so well with what I'm planning. And I have such great plans for where it's all going!

I really really hope this meeting lives up to all your expectations! I poured over this a long time trying to make sure they were in character and this might be what was said after all that's happened. It wouldn't be realistic to not have any tension or resentment whatsoever after what Sarah did. These two have got some things to work through, but that's what will be so fun!

I'm done chatting away. Enjoy my dear readers! And thank you so much to all who gave me such encouraging reviews! Hope to hear from you again after this :)

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><p><strong>Chapter Five: It's Not Always Swell<strong>

**...**

**...**

The years may have touched her and urged her to womanhood, but the King of the Goblins stood unchanged as if not one day had passed since last they looked upon one another. Though she had encountered him before, after all these years his appearance struck her afresh; especially with the added perspective that was not from the eyes of a young girl. And yet the impressions remained similar. He inspired great awe, intimidation, and marvel simply with his presence.

His pale hair glinted in the sun that peered around the clouds, spiked and long in its unusual style, and his skin was still that clear fairness not quite human. He wore tight black breeches, a white shirt, and a black mantle with a high collar much like the one he donned the very first time he stood before her. His tall, lithe figure was framed not simply with clothes but with grandeur and imposing confidence that rolled off him like waves of water: he was no mere man or inexperienced youth. His bearing was of one long in years, confident in identity, and assertive with abilities that mere mortals did not possess.

But over all these things his eyes pierced to her very soul.

As soon as she had moved from the ground, he flew forward so that her study of him became more detailed as he approached. Those eyes never strayed from her as he drew closer and closer until they were only about five feet apart. She was starkly reminded how intimidating he could be so close and personal with those strange eyes taking her in but his thoughts completely hidden.

"There is no time," he spoke in his aristocratic tones that were deep and clear. "He will strike again at any moment. Come with me and he will not reach you."

Not really the words she imagined at meeting for the first time in years. But they had just survived an attack by a darkly powerful creature. What words did she expect?

"Where?"

"Where else? The only place you will be safe."

"The Underground," she murmured after tearing her eyes away from his.

He regarded her with a serious expression, but if she had really looked she might have seen the desperation in the depths of his gaze, the tension in his muscles, or the hard set of his jaw that all belied his true emotions. The brief battle had not been without feeling, but he had schooled his features as soon as Sarah turned towards him.

With a smooth flourish of his gloved hand, he placed it palm upwards in an offer to her. It vaguely resembled a time seven years ago when he proffered up the same hand, that time with a crystal resting there with a promise of fulfilled dreams. This time was only his hand. Or was it? Unseen offerings might have lain there strung with hope.

It was either remain here and risk facing the man she thought was Bran or take her risks in the hands of the Goblin King. What would he do once he had her back in his realm? They hadn't exactly parted on good terms. Did he have to come if called upon? She hadn't used 'I wish' though, so it had to be more than obligation.

There was only one way to find out.

Without another minute's hesitation she laid her delicate white hand in his. Her will faltered in that moment for a ghost of a smirk appeared on his lips the instant their hands met.

They vanished.

Sarah had returned to the Underground.

* * *

><p>The Underground. The labyrinth.<p>

Jareth the Goblin King.

Sarah closed her eyes to stifle a wave of dizziness sweeping over her. The leap from Aboveground in her world to this one had not been as smooth as the first time. One moment they were in a field under an open sky and the next they stood in a familiar stone castle.

When she dared to look again, she peered around with a little confusion for as familiar as it was it also was different than she remembered. It was the throne room but it was much larger than before—although still circular in shape—all the goblin filth was cleared away, and its trappings were a bit less barbaric looking. The stones of its construction were a warm colour built to stand against passing time in high-reaching walls that formed into a domed roof. The throne used to be shaped from a bone-like structure draped with cloth but now it was pale smooth stone cut with intricate detail into the partial wall behind, a black dosser hanging on the high back. Tall rectangular windows looked out over an expansive view of the goblin kingdom: the castle grounds walled in the midst of the Goblin City, the city itself with its quaint clusters of medieval-looking buildings, the mysterious forest stretched out dark green in the middle layers, and then the meandering walls of the vastly complex labyrinth fading into the distance.

And then she realised she was being watched. A kingly figure leaned against the wall to her right.

She wished she could understand his expression, but unfortunately she still had difficulty reading him when he didn't want to be read. Those pale eyes bored into her from a distance, time lost in a meeting of old acquaintances with great depths unspoken between them.

"Thank you," said Sarah. She was surprised at the steadiness of her voice however soft it sounded in the air. It was a phrase she never thought she would say to this man until today.

As if her voice had broken a spell, the enigmatic Goblin King finally stirred and gradually approached step by step. Each step made Sarah's heartbeat quicken. What was he thinking? She was dying to know, to hear him speak even one word. His presence was powerful, and she felt small. He towered over her, but she did not look away or show any signs of her unease.

After it seemed days had passed between them, the King of the Goblins spoke.

"Do not thank me yet, Sarah. It remains to be seen whether I've actually done you a service or not."

Twice now she was taken aback by his choice of words. _Don't be silly again_, she told herself. _Just because he made you a rather profound offer years ago doesn't mean he's about to become a poetic sop falling all over your feet or throwing around nostalgia. You really think he wants to bring up what happened last time?_

Before she found words to respond with, he drew even closer with a crease between his brows as he studied her face. A bit of a blush flamed in her otherwise pale cheeks at his close scrutiny. She became highly aware of the lavender dress she still wore with its flowing material and thin straps that left a lot of skin exposed. From his features it seemed he didn't like what he saw, and in some way that disappointed her after girlishly enjoying his attention when she was fifteen.

Her assumption suddenly proved false.

He reached out a black-gloved hand, softly caught her jaw, and tilted her head to the side. His eyes lingered on her right cheek where there was more than a blush tinting her skin red. In that simple act and the nearness she finally saw more of the emotions mingling in his gaze for what they were: contained fury and...was that concern? His fingertips gently brushed the mark Fiachna had left.

"He struck you." The Goblin King's voice was low and intent. "I didn't get there in time."

Sarah drew in a shaky breath as he drew away his hand and put more distance between them. "You made it right on time actually," she said. "I was lucky to get only this from that...that creature."

It was as if they spoke words other than what they actually wanted to say. Sarah struggled internally whether or not she was safe in his keeping, for as much as she wanted to trust him she really didn't know him much better than she had known Bran—or Fiachna as he called himself. Besides, she was the girl who defeated him and left him behind, so she had no idea how he would treat her.

What did one say to the man you'd rejected and told he had no power over you? She didn't think she would ever see him again. Now here he was in the flesh.

"What just happened back there?" she questioned softly.

"You, Sarah, got yourself into yet another predicament within the Underground."

"How is that? I didn't do anything this time."

"Didn't you?" he said sharply. "Entangling yourself with a dark and powerful mage who is extremely dangerous and then returning here to my kingdom. You do tend to draw trouble to yourself."

The accusation in his tone stirred her annoyance. "That's not fair! How was I supposed to know who he really was? He was my friend and acted like any other guy I'd met, even sometimes like...like you." She pursed her lips and realised what had just come out of her mouth. Maybe there was something about being back here that brought out the teenager in her again. Or it was the Goblin King. He enjoyed pushing buttons a little too much, but at least this time she was an adult. She hoped so at least, although that cursed phrase popped out of her mouth anyway.

"Did he?" Those pale eyes flickered with an emotion unintelligible. "Well, he is cunning, but I expected you of all people to see through that façade."

How had this turned into an argument? That tinge of bitterness in his voice was chafing, and his accusations were rubbing her the wrong way. She clamped her mouth shut to avoid spouting off things she would regret later. She couldn't let him push her over the edge.

_Maybe I deserve it after what I did to him..._

"The Raven Mage is a powerful being," said the king. He clasped his hands behind his back and began to slowly pace the throne room. Whenever he passed by the windows, beams of sunlight shimmered in his pale hair like gold glinting. "He hasn't been seen or heard of for many long years, so to find him in your Aboveground after all this time is...curious."

"Curious?" she scoffed. Her fiery spirit was winning over feelings of intimidation. She reminded herself that this was the same man she conquered with her words years ago. "Trying to kidnap and kill me isn't curious! It was terrifying! I didn't know if he was going to kill me, torture me, or who knows what else. I don't even know who he is or why he wanted anything to do with me."

He rounded on her with a stern voice. "And you should be frightened, Sarah. At last you are afraid when you should be. You would have become his captive, not his victim, but that would've been far worse than death. Why he followed you and sought to abduct you is a mystery." His tone quieted a little. "And why call out to me for help, Sarah?"

So there it was: the question she'd been expecting yet hoping would be avoided.

"I..." She fumbled for words but couldn't find any she wanted to say out loud. Why did she call out for him? Perhaps because he was the only one she knew who could help her. That's what she decided to tell him.

At her answer his sternness turned into a sneer as he harshly angled his body away from her and stared out one of the open windows. "Always asking things of me. Always wanting from me. And always expecting it to be done freely." He whirled around. "Am I to grant all your wishes and all your whims simply because you ask?"

The words stung, though more so because of the tone behind them. Not a word was yelled at her, but his clipped voice was enough. She gaped at him quietly.

"So my screaming for your help when I was being attacked was simply a whim?" Her voice raised and her hands moved with expression. "Yes, asking for Toby to be taken away was a whim and foolish wish I didn't know the consequences of. But this? I needed..."

She cut off abruptly. _I needed you_, she nearly said. Her breath came in sharply. If she had finished that statement that would have buried her in embarrassment in the presence of this dangerous being. But it was true. In that moment of fear she had needed his help, had needed him to rescue her; she just didn't want to voice it quite like that to him.

"I needed help," she said instead. "I needed help, and so I asked for it. Maybe I should've just let that mage take me and you wouldn't have this burden."

She turned her back to him and stalked out of the throne room by the nearest door. It happened to be the arched entrance that had led to the mystifying Escher-inspired room by a winding stairway. After running up the stone steps until she was sure she couldn't be seen, Sarah collapsed. Her back rested against the wall and let its chill seep into her skin while the lilac folds of her dress fell around her legs, and her bare feet curled against the rough stone, her shoes forgotten in the nameless field.

"What's going on?" she whispered faintly. "I didn't wish for anything this time. Why did Br—Fiachna want me so badly? I don't understand!"

Sarah and the Goblin King had been adversaries once upon a time, yet the more she considered it the less she wanted to be adversaries again. For some reason this Raven Mage frightened her far worse than the Goblin King ever had with that blatant deceit and terrifying visage when he attacked her. The king never attacked her. Well, not really. He did send his goblin army after her and her friends to stop them from reaching the castle, but it definitely seemed different to her than a darkly powerful being physically assailing her and admitting his desire to cause her harm. This was not a game. This was life and death.

That made her feel vulnerable and in need of someone to protect her. She was strong and determined, but sometimes there was a force that you couldn't face alone.

And at last all the emotions stirring like a storm inside her broke loose. Her eyes brightened with the sheen of tears, and they trickled down her cheeks till they dripped onto her dress. She didn't understand why she was attacked. She didn't understand why the Goblin King brought her to his castle. She didn't understand why he had grown so angry.

Most of all she didn't understand why it hurt so much.

* * *

><p>An indeterminable amount of time passed as Sarah sat on the stairs in the Goblin King's castle. Her tears had dried, and her mind had turned to her friends back in the Aboveground at Jessica's wedding. Would they have missed her yet? Or would they even notice her and Bran were gone until it was over?<p>

A squeak and a loud throat-clearing snapped her attention towards the bottom of the stairway. A squat little goblin with large dark eyes and a round belly stood there shuffling his feet and tugging on his leather coat with thick fingers. When she looked at him he squeaked again as his eyes darted everywhere but to her.

"H-His Majesty, uh, says the lady's to be shown her...her room."

This was the first goblin she'd seen since arriving back here. Now that they weren't coming after her or trying to keep Toby away, she thought they were almost kind of...cute. In a strange goblin-creature way of course.

"Wait. My room?"

"Uh, yes," the poor critter stammered. "Your own room's been made up for ya and everything. All nice and...uh, nice."

After everything that had happened that day, a small smile finally lit her face. "Well, where is it then?"

"Oh! Follow me!" His stubby little legs leaped up the stairs one by one until he passed her by and continued on up. He waved a broad brown hand at her to follow.

She stood up on her feet, hesitated a moment in bewilderment, and slowly followed the squat goblin. She didn't understand how these stairs would lead to anything but that strange room with the maze of staircases, walls, and doors; but, sure enough, when they reached the top it opened into a long, wide hall with no Escher room in sight. A runner of burgundy and dark grey ran down the entire length of the corridor floor, and on the right wall tapestries hung like banners from the high ceiling nearly to the floor in the same colours of the rug without design or symbol. To the left was a line of broad windows set deep in the wall which left a ledge wide enough to sit on and arches built above.

The goblin realised she had stopped and waved his hand frantically at her again. Down at the end of the hall was a door made of a material that was almost like pale marble with the face of a woman sculpted into the middle with hair streaming out all around her with flowers and vines intertwined. The goblin hobbled up to it and waited. She stepped forward with a hand reached out to touch the smooth sculpture, and as soon as her fingers brushed the surface, the door swung gradually inwards. She jumped back and watched as her new room opened to her.

Three steps went down into an expansive chamber with ceilings as high as the rest of the castle, the same stonework, and more colour than she imagined would be in such a place after the bareness of her first visit. The castle had changed somewhat since last she saw it. Or was this room made especially for her and her comfort?

Where the ceiling met in a peak there hung a large chandelier twined with silver and crystal shaped like swirls and waves of water. To the right side was a giant bed with canopies draped over the top and hanging in diaphanous folds to the floor, all its material of deep shades of plum and touches of dark gold. The blankets looked so soft and fluffy she was tempted to run over and collapse into them. She smirked slightly when she saw the elaborate, cream-coloured vanity with a mirror framed with carved vines, like the one in her old room but so much finer. A few chairs sat on the left in a sitting area with cushions the same colour as the purple bedcovers. Other details she soaked in quickly before glancing over her shoulder to see if the goblin was still around.

He fidgeted outside the door until she focused his direction. He bounced a little on his flat feet. "Is it to your sat...satis...uh, liking?"

"Very much, but why do I need a room like this? Does he plan to keep me here that long?"

The creature's large dark eyes rolled around trying to find a response. "His Majesty doesn't tell Greit secrets. Doesn't tell him much at all."

The goblin she assumed was called Greit turned and hobbled quickly back down the hall. She sighed and ambled over towards the bed that seemed to call out softly to her. When she settled onto the downy cover it turned out it was as soft and silken as it looked.

And so it wasn't long before she was drawn down into its pleasant folds and fell into a deep dreamless sleep.

* * *

><p>Dawn arrived in the Underground with a warm wind and golden sunshine like liquid pouring over the land. Soft beams of sunlight fell through the windows of Sarah's room until they stretched out to the bed on which she lay sleeping. When the warm caresses of the sun touched her skin, Sarah stirred from rest and blinked awake. While her eyes were still blurry she rolled onto her back and stretched her legs with happy thoughts of waking from such strange dreams.<p>

Her eyes cleared. She jolted upright on the cushy bed and glanced around the room. She threw herself back once the reality hit her: it had been no dream.

But she was _not_ going to mope today. Today she would get answers and find out what was going on, maybe even figure out what to do to elude this Raven Mage so she could go back home.

"Do I want to go back?" she murmured into the cool morning air. "Wait!"

She sat up again in a flurry of movement and slid over the side of the bed. The chill of the stone floor sent a shiver over her skin and she hurried to a rug.

"My friends! Of course I can't go until I see them. Hoggle, and Ludo, and Sir Didymus. Oh!"

Sarah had caught a glimpse of herself in the mirror and grimaced. The lavender dress was wrinkled and most the pins had fallen out of her hair so it tumbled down in disarray. She sat at the vanity, taking out the other pins and shaking out her long dark tresses until they had some semblance of order, but the dress she couldn't do anything about.

_It doesn't matter_, she told herself. _It doesn't matter._

She bit back a scream when she saw a second figure in the mirror. She whirled around to find the Goblin King watching her unabashedly from across the room with his arms crossed, his posture relaxed, and a sparkle in his eye that was all too familiar. It felt like they were back in the labyrinth where he was about to loose another ploy to keep her from her goal.

"What are you doing in here?" she demanded. "Can't you at least knock?"

"And would you have let me in?"

"I...no, probably not."

Where yesterday he was all seriousness, today he seemed to be all mischievousness with that impish expression light upon his face as though always ready to smirk or smile for his audience.

"But still, there's a good reason I wouldn't let you in," she continued. "I don't want to see you right now."

"Not even for breakfast?"

He motioned at the side table next to him which she hadn't noticed before, and there sat a silver tray full of food. One platter had sweet pastries still steaming as if fresh out of the oven, and the other was stacked with an assortment of fruit ripe and vibrant. Her stomach grumbled hungrily at the delicious-looking food. To be honest, she felt famished since her last meal had been lunch the day before.

"I thought as much."

And with those words he slipped out the door before she could register he was leaving. She stared at it a few moments before cautiously approaching the tray that smelled more and more delicious the closer she came. But could she trust any food from that man, the one who had given her the drugged peach once before? She was so hungry that she decided she'd chance it.

Then she saw it. A peach sat in the midst of all the other fruit as if in taunt. She snatched it and proceeded to toss it out a window.

* * *

><p><strong>Fun Fact<strong>: I happen to live by the Bog of Eternal Stench (a.k.a. the sewer plant). I wouldn't want to be thrown in either...(and why they built that sucker out by us boggles my mind: stinkers)


	7. The Lost and the Lonely

**AN**: Sorry my dears for the long delay! It was definitely unintended but apparently my laptop had other plans...It decided to break down twice and then be completely dead for good. Well, we all understand computer trouble I'm sure, but enough of that. All that matters is that I saved all my files and didn't lose any writing! Here's a new chapter for all you wonderful folk! I think it should make up for the delay ;). P.S. I've been sick so I apologise if anything in here doesn't make sense or something odd...heh.

Read on!

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><p><strong>Chapter Six: The Lost and the Lonely<strong>

**...**

**...**

It was a little while later when Sarah heard a knock on the door. She assumed it wasn't _him_ since he didn't seem to find knocking necessary even though it was supposed to be a private room. She huddled by the door and asked who it was.

A deep gravelly voice called out that sounded suspiciously like a goblin. "Lady, His Majesty wants you."

She rolled her eyes. _At one point maybe_. "What for?"

"Uh...you're supposed to talk to 'im or somethin' but I'm supposed to take you there."

"Not right now," she said. "I'll go when I please."

"He said if you didn't want to I'm to mention 'raven' and you'd come. Whatever that bloomin' means..."

Sarah didn't want to come at his beck and call, but he was right about mentioning that word to change her mind. As much as she wanted to resist, the desire to deal with this problem was greater and who better to help her than a similar being? At least they seemed to be from appearances. She had wondered whether the Goblin King was the only one of his kind in the Underground, but she regretted her curiosity now that a mage appeared that was far worse to answer her question. It would have been better to never know.

"All right then," she sighed. "I'm coming."

But she wasn't sure how to open the door. There weren't any latches or handles or knobs. After staring at it a while trying to discover its secret and cursing the king for hiding riddles and traps still even now, she remembered how it opened the day before when she touched it. So she did it again.

It swung open on slow hinges. Outside, a long-armed goblin with giant feet stood waiting, a leather helmet falling over one of his eyes. He was taller than Greit although he still only reached her waist.

His eyes widened at the sight of her and it wasn't till she cleared her throat that he shook his head and started walking down the hall. Morning light turned it golden. They turned left through a door that she hadn't seen the night before between two of the banners hanging on the wall and into another corridor much like the first but much shorter. Where it ended it opened into a wide space with a few doors to choose from and a hall that went in both directions at the end. What truly amazed her was not the stonemasonry of the castle but what was straight ahead. A single open arch led to a courtyard outside with green lawns and trees, and in the very middle stood a tower of great girth and height, its spire reaching up towards the heavens with almost a midnight blue tint to its roof tiles.

"Is that where we're going?" she asked breathily.

A sudden irrational fear of being locked up in a tower like a princess from a fairytale surged through her, and she came to an abrupt stop. The goblin scowled at her with the one eye she could see.

"No. What'd you stop for? Don't want to keep 'im waiting."

"Of course not," she muttered, but she did keep moving forward even if her dread was growing step by step. She didn't feel ready for another confrontation with the King of the Goblins. He always threw her off balance somehow.

They entered another room. Inside was a tall hearth at the far end, yet more high ceilings, and very basic furnishing much like the throne room. Masculine with touches of the otherworldly.

Although it was morning, the sunlight wasn't yet strong here at these windows so a few spindly candles were lit in a melting cluster on one of the short tables. In the glow of the firelight and meagre touch of sun she looked again on the Goblin King. His defined features were thrown into sharp contrast and his eyes dark. Those arched eyebrows rose a little at the sight of her.

"You _summoned_ me?" said Sarah with a touch of resentment to her tone.

His rigid posture loosened a little, but he still stood tall and proud as he regarded her. "I _asked_ for you to come since I assumed you'd want to know more about the man who attacked you. And, Sarah, don't undermine me in front of my subjects." His lips twisted as with a bad taste.

She looked over her shoulder and saw the goblin was gone. "No one else is even here. What does it matter?"

"Careful Sarah," he said with a sharp tone and piercing eyes as he took a step forward. "You're in my kingdom now and by your own choice. Do not forget it. Here I am king and here I expect you to show respect."

_Fear me, love me, do as I say..._

She squashed her wandering thoughts and memories. Although she knew it wasn't right to show blatant disrespect to any king of any realm, it was difficult to treat him that way after all that had happened. There was an odd familiarity with someone who spirited away your baby brother, made you fight to get him back, then offered you a place in his kingdom at his side.

As if sensing the turmoil within her, a frown creased his brow. He drew closer while she was distracted until they were only a few feet apart.

"Do you want to know about the Raven Mage or not?" he asked.

As if realising how close he suddenly came, Sarah instinctively backed away. "Yes."

"Then sit."

Although it sounded suspiciously like a command, he gestured to a chair close by with a tall back and no cushion or fabric of any kind. She settled into it with all the grace of a lady and smoothed her skirts while he remained standing.

"Fiachna the Raven Mage is an old...acquaintance...of mine," he began. Two crystals appeared in his hand, and he swirled them around with practised ease. "I don't know why he decided to try and ensnare you, but I can at least guess. You see, we haven't been on friendly terms for quite a while—if ever we were—and it would not surprise me if he sought some sort of vengeance for my sake."

"So you're enemies then. Why me? What do I have to do with your little fairy feud?"

A flash of annoyance sparked in his mismatched eyes when he looked at her, and the crystals whirled even faster in his palm. "We are NOT fairies, girl," he growled. "And do not make light of an enmity so strong. You once thought I didn't take certain circumstances seriously enough with your little brother, but now you do the same with this. You have no idea what you've gotten in the middle of."

The way his voice had dropped and the meaning of his words were all enough to send a reasonable jolt of fear into her heart. If the Goblin King took the situation this solemnly than it really must be terrible.

"But why me?" Her trembling hands clenched fistfuls of her dress. "I don't understand."

The clear balls slowed to a stop in his grasp as he turned away from her. "Ask him that yourself if you want the answer.; although you shouldn't want to see him again. He's known for his cruelty and the dark spirit within him, a being not to be trifled with unless absolutely necessary."

"Yet you did," she murmured.

A sudden thought occurred to her: had she put the Goblin King and the labyrinth and her friends in danger when she cried for his help? Had he really risked so much to save her? If she had put them all at risk she would regret coming back here.

"You said he might attack at any moment unless we came here. Do you think he'll try again?"

"Of course he will. Surrendering or quitting don't even register in his mind. This certainly isn't over and will not be until either of us is dead."

A chill spread through her. "How long has it been like this?"

"More years than you've been alive, my dear," he said with a sneer. "Far more years than that."

"I still don't understand why he decided I was a good playing card against you, but since you refuse to answer that one, I'll let it go. For now. So...how do I stop him?"

The king nearly gaped at her, his mouth parting slightly so the tips of his sharp canines showed. "You? You plan to stop him, do you?"

"Well, I'm the one he came after and you apparently are burdened with me," she said fiercely, "so the sooner he's dealt with the sooner I can go home and be out of your hair. I don't want to stay here. I want to go home. If that means defeating this mage then that's what I have to do. So how do I do it?"

He stared long at her without readable expression. Time flowed past like rushing waters in which she scrambled for something to hold onto but could only see him standing before her. That stare unnerved her more than any of the others because it seemed he was stripping away all defences, masks, and flesh to study her soul laid bare to his keen gaze.

"Brave little Sarah," he said at last. "Always so brave. Unfortunately this situation cannot be resolved by solving my labyrinth or making new friends because this time it really isn't your problem or your doing. It is mine. You see, I would've been involved whether you asked for my help or not. It simply gave me the advantage he was hoping to have."

It was good to hear him admit that it wasn't her doing, but that did not comfort her to know just how awful the complications were. "So I'm just some chess piece now in the middle of a fight," she muttered. "And all I can do is sit around and wait for this Fiachna to make another move?"

"Perhaps. There is no going home, Sarah. At the first opportunity he would capture you and spirit you away to a dark place just like I did your baby brother, but all without being asked of course. Why do you think I brought you here? There is no safer place."

"Don't get me wrong, I'm grateful, I really am. But…can't you attack him first? You know, catching him off guard and surprise being the advantage."

"You try to make it all so very simple," he mused. The crystals were now sliding up and down his arm and over his fingertips. "He moves around and doesn't like to call one place home, so it would be rather difficult finding him in all the Underground since he doesn't wish to be found. My crystals cannot show me Fiachna simply because he has made sure they can't spy on him. I am weary of all your questions and will answer no more."

"Are you still angry with me?" she said. "Don't think I've forgotten how you treated me yesterday. You haven't even apologised." And she was tired of pretending it hadn't happened. Their first meeting had not gone very well.

A cloud darkened his countenance. "Haven't I a right to be upset with you? I have not forgotten last we met..."

"Neither have I," she said in a much gentler tone.

"Really? Then why did you have to wish to remember it all so recently?"

Sarah's eyes widened a little, although she had suspected his involvement in some of her dreams. So it _had_ been him flying outside her window that morning and not only her imagination.

"You forgot _everything_," he said in a dangerously quiet voice.

"That's not true! I never forgot you! Maybe I didn't remember everything you said, but I never forgot _you_."

His hands clenched into fists, and his jaw tightened.

"Why do you think I made that wish? Why do you think Bran reminded me of you sometimes?" She sat back in her chair and looked down at her lap feeling like she might've revealed a little too much. "I just want to be rid of this mage and go home. I'm sorry if I'm such an inconvenience for you, but I'm not sorry for what happened in the past. Facing you and overcoming my childish selfishness made me who I am today. And you couldn't have expected anything else when you gave me such a choice because Toby was my little brother whether I liked him or not. It wasn't fair, was it? But that's how it is."

"I am not sorry for it either," he murmured, "and how could I remain angry with you when in defeating me you proved my equal?"

Sarah and the Goblin King sat in silence for some time. The confrontation had been unpleasant, but the suffocating tension between them because of old antagonism was gone at last. To her it had felt like something you could almost taste in the air: an old conflict hovering between. It was worth the cost to be rid of it.

"May I go now?" asked Sarah.

"So soon?"

She heard rather than saw the playfulness in the statement since his back was to her. He either hid his true thoughts and emotions extremely well or he really did take the tension between them lightly.

She rose to her feet out of the hard chair. "Why are you helping me after...after what I did?"

His body tensed. His crystals disappeared. All of a sudden it didn't seem like a wise decision to ask such a question. Even though he only had on the same white shirtsleeves and black breeches from the day before without the high-collared imposing mantle, he still gave off an air of perilous eminence. Without much warning, he spun on his heel and stalked towards her. With the chair right behind her there was no escape anywhere, nowhere to flee from his impending wrath.

But he did not strike out at her. He stopped two feet away and stared down at her with an intensity that threatened to burn her skin. She really was tired of her pulse racing out of control so often around him, but he was so close she could feel his warm breath on her cheek. A whole other kind of nervousness tingled along her nerves.

When he raised a gloved hand and she flinched, he shook his head.

"Afraid, Sarah?" His head leaned a breath closer. "We aren't adversaries anymore, you and I. You needn't be afraid."

"I can't trust you," she murmured.

"No," he said as softly. "I suppose you can't. But you'll have to a little if I'm going to protect you from Fiachna."

Being so close to each other gave her a bit of a heady feeling which she couldn't handle much longer. Her legs hit the chair when she tried to move. He smirked and pressed in even nearer. She ended up dropping into the seat again with no other place to go. In an instant he leaned down and placed his hands on the arms of the chair so she was trapped.

"But can I trust _you_?" said the king.

"What?"

"You defeated my labyrinth and used some rather powerful words last time you were here. You even turned some of my very own subjects against me. Now, it seems the greater question is whether I can trust you or not."

She huffed indignantly, forgetting slightly about the close proximity. "Only because I had to get Toby back!"

"The child you asked me to take."

"Yes, well..."

"I don't wish to have any trouble from you of that kind every time I do something you don't agree with or you change your mind."

_Oh_. A fine trap he'd laid. His logic was actually sort of sound. And by his smug expression he knew that very well.

"So I'd appreciate you not trying to overturn my kingdom if and when this happens," he said, "or trying to overthrow me in your charming ways." 'Charming' was pronounced with such sardonic undertones.

She shifted uncomfortably. She really wanted a good pair of jeans instead of this dress.

"Is that clear...my fairy?" His pale eyes had taken a quick glance at the offending purple garment as if he found her choice of clothing amusing because it did vaguely resemble something of the small creatures.

A deep blush suffused her entire face. "Yes," she bit out. "Perfectly."

"Good."

He stood and moved away across the room leaving her trembling a little where she sat. A moment later she leaped out of the chair and strode straight for the door without sparing him another glance.

The clearer air of the corridor filled her lungs and intensified the relief flooding through her to be out of that place. She knew he could be dangerous but was starkly reminded that it was for many different reasons. His actions and his words confused her. First he tried to thwart her in the labyrinth, second he asked her to love him, third he disappeared for seven years, fourth he swept in to rescue her from a dark mage, fifth he got angry when they first arrived in the Underground, and then he decided to toy with her emotions.

Only then did she realise he hadn't answered her question.

Sarah turned around to face the door. "Insufferable!" she muttered angrily. As she began stalking away it dawned on her that she wasn't familiar with the castle and didn't even know where she wanted to go. Well, if he was going to let her go wherever she pleased she intended to make the most of it and go exploring.

A thrill of excitement rippled through her. Who wouldn't want to go exploring an ancient castle in the midst of the Goblin City in the Underground world? What treasures or secrets or intrigues might be found! Her spirit of adventure stirred into a burning fire, and she set out with no particular destination in mind.

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><p><strong>Note:<strong> Please leave me a review :). Thanks! I'll update soon!


	8. How You Turn My World

**AN: **Guess what? This may be one of my favourite chapters. Just saying...That's probably because it's from Jareth's POV! What we've all been waiting for! Or maybe just me...ahem...

So, I know it's probably been done by 99.9% of Labyrinth writers, but I'm taking the Fey route for Jareth. Or Sidhe as I prefer since it's a bit more specific. I took the actual facts of myth about them and used those with perhaps a bit added from inference in the movie about what he personally can do. I've read all the Irish mythology and took from that, so there's a bit more explanation about our lovely Goblin King in this chapter. Sorry, but we still won't learn the true nature of his and Fiachna's feud till a few chapters from now, but eventually it will come into play. Honestly, I write a few chapters ahead to give myself room to go back and adjust if I need to, so I've already got it headed a certain direction :). If it's cliche, oh well. Psh. It's still going to have a good deal of original details and events.

Hopefully he doesn't come across too sappy or anything. He feels deeply, but I don't want him to be overly emotional. Eek! Can't wait to build their relationship more ;)

Enjoy diving into the thoughts of the Goblin King!

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><p><strong>Chapter Seven: How You Turn My World<strong>

**...**

**...**

Sarah Williams.

A name that had floated often in the forefront of his mind. Many days since he first saw her in the Aboveground in a green park with her costume, her dog, and her vivid imagination. She had been but a child in his eyes, but her beauty and innocence and passion had ensnared him heart and soul when she grew older. He had never seen such a delicate yet strong creature who had such reverence and love for his own world to the point of wishing it were real. He had never seen such life emanating from a mere mortal.

Jareth the Goblin King sat on his throne in a deceivingly languid position like a lounging feline that could spring at any moment. The throne room was empty save himself after he had ordered the goblins out for three days since Sarah's arrival; although every now and again he glimpsed a pair of eyes peeking in from the main hall.

In his solitude and quiet he remembered. He pondered. He longed for things that might not be.

_Unless called upon, the Goblin King could not manifest in his true form in the world they called the Aboveground: the realm of mortals, the fragile human creatures that passed from the world so quickly like vapours or morning mist. They were a curious study to him, so he sometimes assumed his owl form to fly around their realm watching the interesting beings of great emotion and flightiness._

_Jareth was one of the Sidhe whom the Irish had named Tuatha De Danaan. And as one of those beings he could sense certain things from great or short distances, drawn to particular humans who had connected themselves to the world of the Underground whether they realised it or not: people who believed in the stories or had desires for the stories to be reality, hoping for its existence and of the beings who inhabited it. Like a sensation or a whisper. It lingered on the air and drew Fey to it when they crossed that border between worlds._

_One such case nine years ago—in human reckoning—was in a New England town in the country of America where he hadn't often strayed. His pale wings beat the air as he felt the pull towards someone partially connected to his world. In his descent from the frothy white clouds he circled the town until his sharp eyes spotted a large park with lawns of green, benches of stone, and a cold stream trickling through. An elderly couple walked along one of the paths off to the right, but far to the left of the park he narrowed in on a small figure huddled at the water's edge with their bare feet dipping into the stream. Down he continued to drop. He landed on a stone post close by. It was a young girl around thirteen years old or so as far as he could guess—he was approaching twelve hundred years so guessing mortal ages who were like children to him their whole lives was a bit difficult._

_He flew to another closer post to get a good look at her, and he was a little taken aback. Young she was but it was clear she would be a great beauty someday. Her hair was long and richly dark like evening shadows in sharp contrast against her fair skin. Although her eyes weren't open enough for him to discern their colour, they were large and fringed with dark lashes. Somehow she reminded him of a statue from ages past that looked as though life had been breathed into it, her white feet glimmering in the clear water and her hair falling down around her in silken strands._

_Jareth flapped his wings in startlement when a shaggy grey and white dog appeared on the other side of her and eyed his bird form warily. When the dog decided the owl wasn't a threat or a fun toy to chase, Jareth again studied the girl. Sorrow creased her brow as she watched the waters flow by, and her fingers absentmindedly pulled at the blades of grass next to her with a sense of melancholy. Just as he began to wonder why he was so drawn to her here and why she seemed so sad, her head lifted and she struggled to her feet._

"_Oh Merlin!" she said to the dog. "You know what we need? An adventure!"_

Now things are getting interesting, _he thought. The dark-haired girl put her hands on her hips and swaggered away from the water's edge as if she donned some kind of persona. She whirled around pretending to clutch a sword aimed at the dog._

"_You filthy goblin! I'm gonna gut you then take all your treasure," she cried with a flourish of her imaginary sword. "What have you to say?"_

Aha. Now I see, _he thought_.

_She proceeded to act out half a story with Merlin the dog before his slight interest began to deepen. Although she was very young and imagining some fantasy, her passion and her heart shone on her skin and in her voice like light sparkling off of the water nearby. Then she collapsed on the grass and stared up into the blue sky with a wistful expression._

_Her eyes. They were green. Not green like the grass but more a mystical shade._

_And full of such innocence as though some pure creature more from a part of his world than this one._

"_Merlin," she murmured, "do you think Karen will love me like mom? What if they have a kid? I don't know if they'll like me very much then, and daddy will forget about me. Sarah, the daughter they didn't want anymore."_

_Sarah_. _The name rolled around in his mind_. Ah, Sarah meaning 'princess,' _he thought to himself_. _How fitting_.

"_I wish...I wish we could go off to some other place and have adventures," she continued. "Meet some goblins or some elves and have to fight for the people we love so we get a wonderful happy ever after. Do you think that exists, Merlin?"_

_Jareth couldn't explain why he felt so drawn to this mortal girl and the pain she carried in her beautiful eyes. Without really understanding why, he knew this wasn't the last time he would come visit her. Yes, there were other humans to see, but this girl captivated him in a way that caused the spark of an idea to enter his thoughts even as she stood and began to leave the park._

_She obviously enjoyed stories. Well, maybe he would give her a grand tale she could treasure the rest of her short life to help ease the sorrow she suffered from her broken family and broken dreams._

_He couldn't stand broken dreams._

Jareth opened his eyes as the memory faded. A week later he had carried a little red book in his talons and conveniently dropped it not far from Sarah so she would find it, a book crafted by his magic but not exactly written by him. The name Sarah meant 'princess'-which he thought fitting—so he made sure the main character was a lovely princess in a situation much like hers and then commanded the book to become a story that she needed most. How was he to know it would weave into a tale of foretelling? Two years later she still was reading it and quoting lines from the pages in that same park when her troubles had grown worse as soon as a baby boy was born. And then, to his great delight, his strongest desire came into being when she took the story a little more seriously and spoke those words he'd secretly wished her to say.

The meeting he longed for finally marked their lives.

But how it had done its work! Here he sat with that girl grown into an adult meandering around his castle with no apparent understanding of what he had gone through for her or the depth of his feelings.

Maybe now that she wasn't so young...maybe now she would understand...

But to make the offer a second time risked a second rejection and that he could not bear. He was one of the Fey, and they were blessed with immortality yet cursed with frail hearts that if broken deeply enough would prove mortal. The Sidhe with hardy physicality untouched by time or illness, but the humans with hardy hearts that endured breaking and suffering with such adapting strength.

He knew that fact better than most after what happened over four hundred years ago.

Sarah couldn't know. He would not receive false love from her simply to save his life. Her heart was so pure and kind that he had no doubt she would consider forcing that on herself to try to help him just like she was always trying to help anyone she encountered, even the creatures of the labyrinth.

Jareth moved to sit up straighter. His leather sceptre tapped against the arm of the throne as his thoughts turned away from depressing thoughts. Another pair of little goblin eyes peered through a crack in the grand doors of the entryway and disappeared just as quickly. If he'd been in better humour the antics of his subjects would have amused him—as they often did—but not today.

His mind wandered to the meeting with Sarah earlier that morning in his study, and he suppressed a sigh. Fight the strong emotions as he tried when she had uttered those dreadful words that doomed them to part years ago, a small glimmer of hope remained buried within his heart that perhaps someday she wouldn't be so opposed to the idea when she was older. Now that day had come. What would she choose? At the moment she seemed to want nothing more than to return home and leave it all behind, but he was no fool. He knew her well enough to sense her hesitancy and putting on of indifference when in reality there were faint sparks of intrigue and confusion glittering in her eyes every time he searched that bright gaze.

Just as before, it needed strict discipline to keep his distance, and clearly he had already failed more than once. The close proximity was intoxicating to all his senses, but her dreaded question had nearly undone him. How could she not know?

"_Why are you helping me after...after what I did?"_

_A ripple of shock and frustration burned a trail from his heart to his throat. He flicked the two gleaming crystals into nonexistence as every muscle in his body tensed. There was no easy way to answer such a significant question; a question to which he thought the answer obvious after the words he'd said to her last time, the songs he sang to speak things to her that couldn't just be said with plain words._

Everything I've done,  
>I've done for you.<br>I move the stars for no one.

_Finally losing a bit of control and wishing Sarah to understand so desperately, he spun on his heel and stalked towards her. The chair just behind her blocked any escape from his approach._

_Only a couple feet away from the lovely being staring at him with a gleam of fear in her entrancing green eyes, he stopped. They were so close he could smell a faint whiff of whatever she washed her hair with, a bit of grass, and a scent of fresh linen. Different purple hues really did suit her creamy skin, shadowy hair, and her eyes. Such lovely eyes. Especially so close he could see all the flecks of colour._

_When he raised a gloved hand and she flinched, he shook his head. Her fear of him was not wholly unwelcome, but how could she think he would strike her? That frustrated him. "Afraid, Sarah? We aren't adversaries anymore, you and I. You needn't be afraid."_

"_I can't trust you," she murmured._

"_No," he said as softly. "I suppose you can't. But you'll have to a little bit if I'm going to protect you from Fiachna."_

_And protect her he would. Whether she wished it or not. But now was not the time to consider that filthy creature or he'd lose his temper. Sarah subtly moved back but the chair was in the way, so he took advantage of the interesting situation and pressed further into her space to see what she would do. It was always enjoyable putting her into difficult places to see her reaction just as he'd done while she traversed the labyrinth._

_Plus, he just enjoyed being so near to her after waiting for seven years._

_It was true he might not be fully trustworthy, but she wasn't either after all she'd done. "But can I trust _you_?" asked Jareth._

"_What?"_

"_You defeated my labyrinth and used some rather powerful words last time you were here. You even turned some of my very own subjects against me. Now, it seems the greater question is whether I can trust you or not."_

_She huffed indignantly. He enjoyed riling her spirits. "Only because I had to get Toby back!"_

"_The child you asked me to take."_

"_Yes, well..."_

"_I don't wish to have any trouble from you of that kind every time I do something you don't agree with or you change your mind." Jareth could plainly see he was winning when a bit of resignation appeared in her face and posture. "So I'd appreciate you not trying to overturn my kingdom if and when this happens," he said, "or trying to overthrow me in your charming ways. Is that clear...my fairy?"_

_His pale eyes took a cursory glance over her slender figure still in the lilac dress from yesterday. She seemed uncomfortable in it, but he thought it flattering on her. And it did seem rather fairy-like. Fairies were a bit feisty and were wont to bite which was fitting for this spirited girl._

_A deep blush suffused her entire face. "Yes," she bit out. "Perfectly."_

"_Good." Then he moved away to regain some control again._

In an instant, a loud clatter brought him to his feet. His reverie was broken. It seemed to have come from the main hall outside the doors, and the more he listened he could hear multiple goblin voices hissing and whispering. He strode across the circular chamber with his long lean legs and swung open the doors.

Five goblin guards froze where they stood in their random array of armour and weapons. All their eyes stared at their king wide and bulging. One of them was on the floor with a clawed foot on his back.

"What is going on here?" Jareth demanded with a resounding voice. Although he put on intimidating airs, it was hard not to be amused by the mischievous creatures.

Some of them shook in their boots. One got shoved forward by the others to answer.

"Uh...your Majesty...uh, nothing."

"Nothing? Then what was that awful racket I heard?"

"Oh, well..." His pinched head swivelled around while he stalled. "Just an accident of course, your Majesty. Nothing to worry about!"

The goblin on the ground made to protest with his mouth opening wide, but the fat one with his foot on his back shoved him.

"I see," said Jareth with penetrating eyes. "See to it that you're at your posts where you're supposed to be."

With that, he closed the doors again and laughed a little to himself. He could hear their feet shuffling and angry whispers as they scrambled back to their places. In fact, the interruption was a welcome one: the Goblin King didn't enjoy dwelling on all his emotions like a boy pining away after some girl.

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><p>A few hours later when the sun was descending from the sky, Jareth conjured a crystal into his palm. Its clear depths swirled and shifted with his wish until he saw Sarah. Knowing her, she could easily get into some kind of trouble just wandering around. He regretted not setting some sort of bounds earlier. There were at least a couple places he'd rather she didn't wander into, including back into the labyrinth.<p>

She looked to still be on castle grounds, standing still with her head raised staring up at something. Grass was all around her bare feet, and a tree or two stood tall somewhere behind her.

The Tower. That's what she was looking up at.

In a moment he transported himself.

Sarah's gasp was audible when he appeared from around one of the trees. The green leaves stirred softly above his head in the faint breeze much like her breathy gasp.

"Of course you'd show up," she said once her surprise faded. "You always appear just when..." Her words trailed off as if thinking better of voicing her statement. She looked away back at the Tower.

"I suppose you're wondering what's inside," he said. Her curiosity was often insatiable, and he was glad for it. Beings who were curious about nothing usually were not very interesting either. "Maybe another time, but not for today. Might I suggest going back to your quarters that I've given you?"

She eyed him suspiciously. "Why?"

"Oh, but it's a surprise."

It was strange to him why she shuddered at that. She worried her full bottom lip with her eyes now on the ground by her feet. It was a distancing that didn't make much sense unless she assumed something terrible of his intentions.

"What is it, Sarah?"

"It's just...that's what Bran—sorry, Fiachna—said right before he tried to get me."

Jareth stepped forward to be closer, and this time she didn't move away. The mention of that abominable wretch sent fire running through his veins and brought the memories of the encounter vivid to his mind. Ecstasy and torment both roiled within him at her cry for help. His name. She had used his name. But all because of the creature who dared attack her and cause such fear to storm in her, the only woman that Jareth the Goblin King had ever cared anything about besides flesh and blood.

The rage that erupted in him when he saw Fiachna hit Sarah across the face and try to snatch her away was both like a frozen chill colder than the highest peaks of the White Mountains far to the North and hotter than the molten fires of the volcanic Mount Ash in the South all merging together to fit into his Fey form. Then the mage was gone. Sarah was all that remained. There she had been in her lavender dress, trembling and wary as she stumbled to her feet to look at him for the first time in seven years.

Although he'd seen _her_ much sooner than that. But still, he was freshly ensnared within her mystical beauty that emanated from her like pale light: her eyes bright, her hair dark, her skin pale, and her lips rosy. All such beautifully distinguished contrast that matched the heart beating so fast within her chest.

The Raven Mage would find his opponent up for a challenge. Fiachna would not walk among the living for long after threatening Sarah Williams.

"There is something I was wondering," she said in a hesitant tone. "Why didn't you warn me about Bran sooner if you were the one meddling with my dreams? If you were watching me then you should have known."

"I meddled only when you wished for it, of course. It would be a lie to say I did not come every once in a great while to see you as you grew older, but I didn't keep close tabs on you as you might assume. If I'd have known this would happen, maybe I would have, but it was only after your wish of remembrance that I was drawn back into your affairs and you into mine."

"So it was you that gave me that strange dream as a warning?"

"Yes," he said. "It was indeed a warning. But I could not truly interfere until you asked for my help. Fiachna does not wait for permission: he simply takes what he wants by force. His touch on you wasn't at first noticeable, but it became like a terrible stench or a dark shadow in the corner of your eye, and then I could sense his magic. That is why he put his plans into action quicker than he hoped because your connection to me and the labyrinth was too strong to sever., so much that even though you considered leaving it in the past as cherished memories only he knew I would find out."

"All that time and I didn't even realise how awful he was and kept making silly excuses for the odd things." She dropped her head and sighed deeply. "I feel like such an idiot for causing all this."

"Sarah, I think you should go to your rooms. It would do you much good." The black glove on his hand wrinkled as he brought a crystal into his palm. He softly blew on it so it floated gently on the air down the hall towards her private chambers. "Don't worry, my dear, it is a pleasant surprise that has nothing to do with me."

For a few more moments she studied the sharp, curving features of his face before slowly turning away out of the courtyard. Twice she glanced over her shoulder at him before disappearing around the corner. Satisfied that she would obey, he entered straight into the Tower.

An enemy had arisen against the Goblin King. It was time to plan the battle.

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><p><strong>Fun Fact:<strong> The first couple times I saw the movie, I totally thought they gave David Bowie false pointy teeth to make him look more 'Goblin King' like. Uhh, then I realised...'oh, those are his actual teeth.' Oops. Fail...

Please review my lovely readers! Let me know what you're thinking!


	9. Though We're Strangers Till Now

**A/N**: Special thanks to **TheWordMasterofFiction** and **Kaytori**! You guys are the best!

An update!

Warning for some cliché type pieces of this chapter like sharing a meal together (but it's breakfast, not dinner: ha!) and introducing another female character around the castle like many others have done (but not quite what you'd expect, I think). As usual, I hope it's done in a way that isn't boring or makes you say "not this again."

And more delving into their interesting relationship. I mean, as great as we think Jareth is, it'd still take time to figure out who he was and how he thought. A mystery that fellow is ;). People don't fall in love overnight, but trust me, there will be romance my dear readers. Oh yes indeed…patience…

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><p><strong>Chapter Eight: Though We're Strangers Till Now<strong>

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The Goblin King's crystal floated all the way to the sculpted door of Sarah's room. When it contacted the smooth, marble-like surface it dissipated like mist and caused the door to swing open. Sarah came around the corner just in time to see what happened. Cautiously she approached and peered into the room before entering just in case the king decided to play a joke after all. Nothing appeared out of the ordinary.

Although...a door that she didn't remember from earlier stood on the far wall. When she stepped down into the room and went to it, the details along the wooden surface edges became clear. Nymphs danced with waves of water and swirling vines wrapped around their willowy figures and flowing hair. She studied it with awe a long while and even ran her fingertips over the skilled work. Eventually her curiosity got the better of her. She pushed open the door.

The room she walked into wasn't very large, but it was laid with a tiled floor marked with Celtic patterns in gold on a tan surface. The walls were a similar colour. The room's purpose was pretty obvious considering the cream bath sitting in the middle brimming with steaming water and the changing screen set up to the side. A few fluffy towels sat on a side table also filled with oils, soaps, and creams in bottles of blue, green, and yellow.

Her suspicions got tossed out the window. After the incident in the field, a long night's sleep, and walking around barefoot all day, a nice hot bath sounded amazing. With a start she realised other clothes would be a good idea before she hopped into the water, so she decided to examine the armoire back in the room first.

"Why didn't I check before?" she mumbled to herself.

When the doors swung open, her lips parted in amazement. Expecting to find it empty or sparse, it was a shock to discover an entire wardrobe of clothes. It turned out to be mostly dresses, though, which was exactly what she didn't feel like wearing at the moment, so she scoured the shelves and drawers for something to wear to bed. When she opened the bottom drawer, she gasped.

There sat a pair of jeans neatly folded. She rocked back on her heels and gaped at them. Then she snatched up a pale green nightgown and hurried back to the bath.

In no time at all she sat in the hot water letting the warmth soak through her skin all the way to her bones. She rested her head against the edge of the tub and closed her eyes.

Where had the jeans come from? Had the Goblin King actually provided her with all this knowingly? The thought that all these gifts—the clothes, the bath, everything in her room—came specifically for her pierced to the depths of her heart like the warmth of the water. Tears pricked her eyes. No one had ever done anything like this for her before.

There were people in her life that loved her, but she'd been abandoned and hurt just as much and by some of the same. The anguish and pain from her mother's desertion when she was little, the subtle negligence of her father while he tried to put back together a new family, some of her classmates treating her harshly for her early odd behaviour, and the betrayal of Christopher who she'd given so much of her heart to. Her father still loved her in his own way, and she had friends like Amber who were of the best sort, but her heart had taken a lot of suffering along the way.

The warmth suddenly turned cold. She opened her eyes and leaned forward.

_He's showering me with gifts, but there's no possible way it's without expecting something in return_, she thought. _He's trying to buy me with things! So what is it that he wants from me this time? I can't believe I fell right into his trap. It's just like the labyrinth all over again but so much worse._

Another internal battle, another struggle with confusion. Until she really understood him and knew his true intentions, there was no way to accept his offerings without suspicion. It was more than enough dealing with an evil mage who wanted her blood, but needing this mysterious mischievous king to do it played upon her doubts and misgivings like fingers on piano keys. How far could she trust him?

Always against her doubt warred the very words he uttered that she remembered within her dreams. It all came down to whether or not he'd lied to keep her from winning Toby back and leaving the labyrinth, or if he meant every word. When she closed her eyes again she could see the intensity and sincerity set in the defined sculptures of his ageless face as he confronted her in that thirteenth hour, an astounding offer in his outstretched hands and eyes never wavering.

"I don't know!" she sighed and splashed the water when her hand dropped from her hair. "I wish I did...I'll just have to find out."

But right then she didn't care anymore and planned on relishing the comforts, no matter the intent behind them.

While Sarah dried her hair with one of the white towels after getting dressed and putting on a warm robe, someone knocked. She assumed it was a goblin and told them to enter. Sure enough, one of the strange creatures shuffled in balancing a tray. He was so absorbed in keeping it steady and not dropping anything while walking without tripping, he didn't even acknowledge her at all. With his eyes widely fixated on the food on the tray he finally set it on a table and released a heavy sigh.

When he saw her watching, he straightened and stood at attention. "His Majesty said to bring you food, so I did."

And then he slipped back out the door.

Sarah laughed quietly and looked at the dinner the king sent. Yet again it looked very appetising. But there to the side lay a note. She picked it up. On the folded parchment read only one line: "I hope you enjoyed this surprise."

Sarah smiled before she could stop herself.

"No!" she scolded. "Don't be so girlish and giving in at the smallest act of charity, or whatever this is. Just wait and he'll be asking for something in return and you'll wish you didn't.

What she didn't know was that the Goblin King watched her for her reaction to the note and heard what she said.

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><p>The next morning, in the jeans and a lovely blue shirt she found, Sarah decided to find something to do besides wander around and waste time. Surely there was something to help find this Raven Mage or maybe even lure him into a trap of some kind so the problem would be dealt with as soon as possible. What she didn't expect was to find the King of the Goblins waiting outside in the hallway.<p>

He leaned in one of the windows with arms and legs crossed casually, his tall frame svelte and draped all in black with that strange medallion always hanging against his chest. His strong jaw, high cheekbones, and vaulted brows were all a part of his otherworldly features leaving no question whether he was human or not. The cast of his skin and his unique style of hair also added to the elfin quality that radiated from him like a sheen of magic glistening upon the surface. And yet he did not look strange. He looked almost...beautiful. The man truly was alluring.

He turned his head under her scrutiny, his pale eyes aglow in the sunlight as they regarded her. A faint blush rose in her cheeks at being caught staring at him like that.

"Sarah," he spoke in his deep, rich tones. "Where might you be off to this morning?"

"I don't know," she admitted. "I can't just sit around all day and some breakfast would be nice. Are you really so interested in what I do?"

"Of course," he said with his customary smirk. "How would you like to take breakfast with me this morning?"

"I...wait, what? Oh." She considered the request a little while and decided that she did have questions she wanted to ask, and maybe he'd be in a good mood while eating. It was getting wearisome trying to keep her distance and be on high guard around him when all she wanted to do was relax. Some risks were worth taking. "Yes."

He nodded once and pushed away from the wall. He then offered her his arm like a lord to a lady, and her blush deepened. The king could certainly be quite the charmer when he so desired.

"I told you, Sarah," he said when she hesitated, "you needn't be afraid. You are my guest here in my castle and that's how I intend to treat you. Or haven't you noticed?"

"But..."

"Ah." He held up a hand to stop her. "Not until we're sitting down. Of course you have many questions and wonder many things, but not yet."

"You mean you'll answer all my questions?" she asked sceptically. If he did it would be a miracle.

"You will have to find out now won't you?"

She sighed and crossed her arms. "Well, lead on _your Majesty_."

His arm had fallen back to his side, but he didn't look deterred as he bent in a partial bow and began walking with confident strides down the hall. A few corridors and turns later they walked into a grand room. A long table of stone stretched out in the middle, so it seemed to be some sort of feasting hall or dining space from what she could see. The king pulled out a chair at the end of the table and beckoned her to sit. Of course, as soon as she did he settled to her left in the chair at the head.

As a sense of awkwardness washed over her at the implication of sitting at his right hand, she received the greatest shock of her second arrival in the Underground. Out walked, not a goblin, but someone who looked rather human. It was a woman who appeared to be somewhere in her sixties with a wiry frame and long braided, silver hair that swung to her waist. Her eyes were fairly large and deep dark brown: pretty and captivating even in her old age. When she caught sight of Sarah, those eyes grew impossibly wider and stared. Her hands almost dropped the trays she carried. Once she recovered from her shock she quickly set the dishes of food on the table and hurried back out, bringing a few more until breakfast was served in full.

Before Sarah could speak to her, she vanished out of the hall. She looked at Jareth with a face she knew must be frozen with amazement.

"Well, are you really that surprised?" he said. "You weren't the only one who wished away a child from your world in this age or the ones before. They remain mortal and so they pass their lives quickly in comparison to many in the Underground, but all must stay here since no one..." He paused.

"Since no one beats the labyrinth to free them," Sarah finished in a soft voice. She fingered the hem of her long shirt and wondered if she really had been the only one to do it.

"They have the choice to stay here in my realm or go as they please, and she decided to stay. I'd say it was a wise decision on her part. She is the only one left these days, especially now that the people of your world hardly believe in ours anymore. A lot less children are being wished away to the goblins."

He seemed to find that thought amusing.

"What's her name?"

"Mary, I believe. Eat, Sarah. I'm sure you'll find time later to search her out as you're so talented at doing."

That comment surprised her. The Goblin King certainly noticed a lot of things. It also struck her as peculiar how they seemed to be doing normal things like eating and chatting like old acquaintances. They both took food to their plates even though Sarah didn't exactly have a large appetite that morning with so much on her mind and her heart. The king sensed it but waited for her to speak first.

It didn't take long.

After chewing a few grapes, she said, "Since you don't know how long I'll have to be here, I'd like to ask something. I want to see my friends."

He lifted his head, and one of his slanted brows arched even higher.

"I want to see Hoggle and Ludo and Sir Didymus if you'll tell me where I can find them. Today if they're...if they're here still."

What she hadn't considered was that something happened to them. What if that was the real reason they hadn't come to her when she called the last couple times? Her heart tightened as she waited for an answer.

"They are. You are sure you wish to see them?"

"Of course!"

"I have no reason to say 'no' so you may see them. They'll be told you're here in the castle."

"Thank you!"

She didn't care that he sounded condescending or bored; a beaming smile illuminated her face more than the sunlight and she thanked him graciously. The acceptance of her request came as a complete surprise; however, in her mind it was another notch for another favour he'd done for her that she'd likely have to repay.

"And so there is something I would ask of you."

Her breath caught. _Oh no. Here it goes_.

The king cradled a chalice of some golden liquid in his hands, the hands she'd never actually seen since they never were without the black gloves. Sometimes she wondered if they were disfigured or discoloured for him to wear the leather all the time. The chalice moved as he leaned back and snapped her out of her reverie.

"The castle grounds you may roam freely. The Goblin City you also can go about as you wish, although the goblins can be...unpredictable," he said. "But that is where you must stop because I forbid you to enter the labyrinth."

"I've been through it before and made it out perfectly all right," she stated, but she wasn't sure why she subtly protested the point. Did she even want to go back into that maze? She readjusted her attitude, realising she was fortunate that was all he asked.

"That's not the point. I forbid it. That's the end of it."

Sarah grew quiet.

A long silence extended out between them while both nibbled at the food with little appetite and great distraction. The king studied her every now and again with his mismatched eyes, and Sarah refused to look anywhere but down at her plate even if she desperately wanted to assail him with questions of so many kinds. How long had Mary been here? Did he have any plans for the mage? Would her friends see her today or be delayed? And greatest of all: was everything you said seven years ago true?

At last the Goblin King rose from his chair and walked out of the hall without a single word or acknowledgement. Sarah frowned and got to her feet as well. Things would be so much simpler if he was a simpler man, but no, he always managed to confuse her each and every day whether he was even present or not.

To clear her mind and give herself something to do, she found her way out of the castle—getting lost only once—and headed for the Goblin City. Her friends might not come till later, if at all, and loneliness had begun to drift about her like a chill air seeping its way to her heart. Even being able to watch the ridiculous creatures that never ceased their mischievous antics would be enough to ease the isolation that threatened to consume her, one that the presence of the king couldn't lessen since he remained aloof and enigmatic. It puzzled her still. One moment he acted so...intimately...then the next he set himself at a distance like some people she'd known in her life who put walls up around their hearts to avoid any vulnerability, not always succeeding of course.

As she trotted down the path through the gates into the city that was familiar to her, that new thought gave her pause. It made sense. Perhaps the Goblin King had just learned long ago to guard himself against intruders of his heart just like he'd built the labyrinth to keep intruders out of his castle.

She gasped, and her steps faltered. She had overcome the labyrinth. Then he asked for her love.

Sarah pushed her hair out of her face and picked up the pace. Soon she was running. Goblins of all different sorts stared and shouted as she flew past. Some even pointed and jumped up and down. Last time she'd been here she'd been running too, but this time she was running away from something completely different: not cannons and a goblin army yet a man who threatened to ensnare her in his gossamer threads without any weapon but his otherworldly allure.

Through the mess of goblin homes and buildings she dashed. On and on.

The junkyard was much smaller than she remembered. Piles of rubbish lay strewn all over, but she struggled through without pausing. This place had no good memories, and that junk lady had creeped her out a quite a bit the first time around.

Ahead of the junkyard loomed the forest.

The forest was vast and spread a broad perimeter around the kingdom like another layer of the labyrinth before reaching the Goblin City. The dark green trees reached high and spread their arms out wide, casting deep shadows laced throughout its vast expanse yet also parting in some areas to allow a bit of golden sunshine to pool on the forest floor. It was a thing of both beauty and danger. Sarah hadn't forgotten the fireys.

But at the moment she didn't care. She hurried into the cover of the ancient trees even though she knew there was no place she could hide from the seeking eye of the Goblin King. He'd just forbidden her to enter the labyrinth, yet here she was rushing towards it with abandon.

_Well, I'm in the forest which technically isn't really the labyrinth_, she convinced herself. _It's not like I'm trying to escape_.

_But you _are_ running away_, said another part of her. The more reasonable part of course.

It wasn't long before her thoughts were rather occupied with the strange surroundings. There was a bit of a path like she had followed last time going the other direction, so on her feet plodded against the packed dirt with wild undergrowth brushing against her shoes every so often. Sometimes she pushed aside hanging vines or outstretched branches.

For a long while she walked. Now and again odd bird calls echoed through the thick forest air. It did unnerve her some of the time since she was alone and the forest was rather dark in some areas. Who knew what dwelt there other than the fireys or other creatures she'd already met?

She picked up her pace.

Then she heard it.

The terrifyingly familiar beat of drums and raucous cries heading in her direction.

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><p><strong>NOTE:<strong> Dun dun duunn...Set up for some action and whatnot for the next chapter :). Oh and the fireys aren't exactly the only thing in the forest to be worried about...Hint, hint.

P.S. My updates won't be as weekly during the summer because my life is soon going to be taken over by summer camps and weddings. Lots of them. Crazy amount of weddings. It's kinda ridiculous because I have at least 7 to attend so far. But don't fret, I will still be updating every couple weeks or so!

Please review. It would be wonderful if you did. I'd love you forever...


	10. You've Run So Far

**AN: **Warm summer greetings to you all! Man, it's been super busy but super fun. Hope you guys are having a great summertime!

Sarah overcomes a big issue in this chapter. It's quite a relief. It doesn't make everything all puppies and rainbows, but it's a giant step forward in the direction we're all waiting for ;). I apologise for any mistakes or wordiness that didn't get cut this chapter: I'm in a bit of a hurry to post this before I'm off to more summer camp and such tomorrow. I couldn't leave you guys hanging for another week right?

Last chapter we left off with Sarah running off into the forest on the outskirts of the labyrinth...where Jareth told her not to go. How will he react? What's going to happen while she's in there? Read on and find out!

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><p><strong>Chapter Nine: You've Run So Far<strong>

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**...**

Strength and weakness. Abilities and vulnerabilities. One displayed and the other concealed. But sometimes there were concealed strengths and displayed weaknesses unknown to those who bore them.

Jareth held a crystal in his hand. He stared into its gleaming depths and tapped it with one finger. Colours swirled within. He released it, but it continued to float in the air until it expanded and the colours contoured and defined into an image. But it was still hazy.

It was a blackened mass of rock crudely shaped into forms resembling a living structure like a castle or a manor. No living thing grew anywhere within sight, and the sky above was veiled with grey clouds. Although its image was blurry, he didn't need to see it clearly to know the details eyes could not discern within the crystal like the feel of the scraping rock and the eerie silence only broken by an occasional howling wind. Once it had been called the Raven Manor for it was indeed Fiachna the Raven Mage who had made it his dwelling for nearly five hundred years.

Now it was abandoned, but Jareth had to check to make sure that was still the case. Although Sarah thought he wasn't doing anything about his enemy, he had begun studying alone in the Tower every memory and piece of knowledge about the twisted creature. Strength and weakness. Weakness and strength. To know both of your opponent's was to gain the upper hand, and he had to work quickly since Fiachna already seemed to pinpoint his with frightening precision.

It was true that rumours had spread seven years ago that someone finally made it through the labyrinth, but the King of the Goblins was known for being a recluse who revealed only what he wished to and no more than that. You see, he was not the only one of the Fey in the Underground by any means. Hundreds of them lived. Twenty of them formed a Sidhe Court, and others beside himself also ruled kingdoms of their world as kings and queens of different sects or races. Jareth had become an enigma and mysterious figure to the Court and others of his kindred, so any information about his doings or his kingdom were strongly sought after.

He assumed Fiachna heard the rumours about the incident and discovered more information than anyone was ever meant to. That also meant he'd gone to the Aboveground to watch Sarah to try to snag her in his dark webs.

Deep fury burned like hot coals in his chest. Fiachna had been a nuisance. Not anymore. Now he'd chosen to stir Jareth's wrath in the worst way possible. Any weakness and any strength that could be played upon, he would find.

A prick in the back of his thoughts startled him from his hatred. He frowned and called the crystal back to his hand where it shrunk to its normal size. The image shifted and transformed. What he saw made him throw the crystal against the wall in a shatter of glassy pieces and transport himself instantly away from the Tower.

"Curse that girl and her foolishness!"

* * *

><p>A steady beat of drums. A chorus of loud voices with a snatch of song here and there. Laughter echoing through the trees.<p>

The shaded forest loomed around Sarah as she darted off the path into the gnarled trees in the other direction of the dreaded noises. Those bizarre, vibrant creatures called fireys had tried to take her head off before and would likely try again if they caught her. The light was dim, only veiled sunlight soaking through the high canopy, and the air was dense here like being in a small space threaded with earthy aromas like fresh dirt and tree sap. The ground sloped down a little until it evened out again out of view of the forest path, and that's where she slowed almost to a stop to look around.

Even though she was older now, Sarah still longed for adventure. What was life if you didn't really live it? She didn't want the moments to just pass her by and watch them fade away. Here in this magical forest in a fantastical kingdom of the Underground far, far from home, life pulsed through her like living light rushing through her veins unlike any sensation she'd had in her normal life. The last time she ever felt this way was the first visit to the labyrinth whenever she would conquer one step and make it to the next. Although her life was in danger, she didn't worry. Without taking any risks or facing any trouble, life wasn't much of a life at all but a bare existence that bred lifeless people.

Lost in the joy of adventure and exploration, Sarah forgot to notice her surroundings.

A loud screech like that of a hawk or an eagle pierced her ears. She clapped her hands over them. It came from above her. With slow trepidation, she tilted her head back to look up and see the creature that made the terrible noise.

On a thick bough of one of the mangled trees sat a winged beast somewhere between an eagle and a fox: its body covered in brown fur and its snout long like a fox, but its shape and yellow eyes like that of an eagle. It was huge, at least the size of Sarah or bigger with a wingspan twice her height. Those glowing orbs followed her every move.

And it stared down at her like it had found its next meal.

For a split moment she debated on whether standing her ground or fleeing would be the better option. When the bird-like being spread its wings again and lowered its head, she definitely chose flight.

She turned and ran.

Through the trees, vines, and underbrush she darted on light feet. The flapping of large wings rushed overhead, but she tried to stay in tight places where the thing couldn't reach her from above. A bit of an odd-shaped rock formation jutted out of the ground with moss splotched over its surface. She headed straight for it and found a niche to scramble inside of. The fox-faced creature gave another screech as it clawed at the rock but couldn't manage to reach its prey with those long talons. Sarah was pressed against it as flat as she could go, but its claws still came within a foot of snagging her shirt.

At last it gave up and soared up into the treetops again. Sarah released a sigh of relief and checked to make sure it was gone. When she was sure it really left, she stepped out into the open and began walking back in the direction she'd come to find the road again so she wouldn't get completely lost out in the wood.

The sound of wings snapping on the air was the only warning that the creature had come back. She screamed and dropped to the ground and rolled as it swooped down at her. Once back on her feet, she was off into the trees again in hopes that the beast would give up the chase for good.

Something unexpected happened then.

The fireys were peculiar beings with even more peculiar abilities and how they found her she never could figure out. But find her they did.

The bird-like thing gave a cry and swerved to the side away from Sarah. She stopped and stared as it flew off the other way after all that time pursuing her.

A shout of discovery brought her back to reality with a sickening jerk. She whirled around and saw one of the bright red and orange fireys looking down at her from the top of the slope with a finger pointed straight at her.

"Look!" he cried.

Two more loped over towards him and spotted her too just as she gave a frustrated groan and turned to run. As her legs leaped over logs and her body wove in and out the trees, the fireys decided to give chase and whooped and hollered as they raced after her.

_Stupid. Stupid, stupid..._she chanted at herself as she tried to find somewhere to lose the creatures. She could hear them closing in on her.

One of them suddenly leaped in front of her. She darted to the side to avoid a collision, but another one appeared there too.

"Where you tryin' to run to?"

"Yeah, yeah! Don't you want to see something amazing?"

They closed in much like before. Sarah tried to dash in-between two of them, but they drew in tighter.

Just as she was despairing her luck for the day, the fireys withdrew from her just as quickly as they came. Their beak-like mouths curled down and their shoulders hunched. Their knees seemed to knock a little too.

A familiar tall figure draped in his imperial black cloak stalked towards the trembling creatures. His high black boots glided over the uneven earth like it was a smooth walkway. Nothing seemed able to diminish that confidence and that distinguished bearing that exuded from him.

"You even think of laying a hand or foot on her and I'll throw all your heads into the Bog of Eternal Stench and leave your bodies running around the forest!" the Goblin King declared.

They gave off a round of "of course's" and "no, no never's" and "yes, your majesty's" with bobbing heads and shaking hands.

"Well?" the king drawled.

They all exchanged glances with each other. Then they were leaping away in the opposite direction without another sound. Sarah blew out a sigh of relief that stirred her side-swept bangs.

But then the Goblin King turned that fierce gaze on her. All at once she felt like a child in need of a scolding after doing exactly what he told her not to and running into trouble because of it. She could be stubborn, but this time she was very aware of her mistake.

"Sarah, what was the one thing I asked you not to do?" His deep voice was low, pronounced, and the accent crisp.

"To go into the labyrinth," she murmured with her head lowered.

"And what did you do? You went immediately after I told you not to do that very thing! Didn't you think I had a reason to make that demand? You passed through the labyrinth before, yes, but that doesn't ensure your safety trying it again. I can't keep watch over you all the time!"

"I'm sorry, okay! I really am. I didn't expect something like this to happen and I just wanted to...I don't know...to get out of there."

His brows rose a little, and he tilted a shoulder forward towards her. "You're not a prisoner of mine. It was your choice to come here where you would be protected, so this need to get away completely baffles me. The only person needing to be saved is you, Sarah, not some little boy or helpless creature that needs me to be fought off. When you challenged the labyrinth years ago, I stood aside and said little because otherwise you would have lost great opportunity to claim victory on your own—and with the ones who were drawn to help you because you first helped them—a victory that changed you from a mere child to a growing woman." His back straightened as the ferocity of his expression diminished. "But not this time. This time I've committed to keeping you safe, not pushing you to your limits. This time your strength and persistence are not enough."

His voice crashed over her and wrapped around her heart like squeezing fingers. Yet again there were riddles within his words that she longed to decipher, but for him to imply that she was strong embarrassed her after her mishap.

"How can you call me strong?" she said softly. "After I've proven weak all those times I've..."

"Run away?" he finished when she trailed off. "Always running away, Sarah. Why are you always running?"

"Even the strong have things that they fear."

"And what are you afraid of?"

"You."

* * *

><p>Jareth's heart quivered in his breast. Was Sarah truly afraid of him so much so that she would run away into the labyrinth where it wasn't safe? But it didn't make sense, not when she'd called out for him when true and pure fear had taken her standing before the anger of Fiachna. Perhaps her fear for him wasn't what it seemed...<p>

Within the green wood the shade of her bewitching eyes was deeper and more vibrant, but the shame in them dulled their brightness. To him she was as lovely as the blush of golden dawn with painted colours in the sky or an evening lit with stars and the moon glistening upon the still waters of a lake; but to see her ashamed troubled him.

He reached out a hand and lifted her chin with a finger. "Sarah...when I asked you to fear me, this wasn't what I had in mind."

His lips pulled into a bit of a smirk at her deep blush, and he dropped his hand from her chin. Strangely enough, though, she didn't reply and refused to look at him. He spared a few moments to study her without her watching, noting all the lines and curves of her face, the face that haunted him for years. From subtle indicators it was clear that conflict stormed inside her with her brow furrowed a little, her focus lost deep within, and her lips slightly parted while her hands rested fisted against her sides.

Just as he was about to suggest they return to the castle at once, Sarah raised her head and looked him straight in the eye. _Ah, now there is the Sarah I know. Confident and unafraid and certain. And so very beautiful..._

"You also said you were exhausted from living up to my expectations of you," she said.

That struck a nerve. His focus sharpened instantly.

"If that was true then is anything you say or do real? If everything you did before was because I wished it or expected it, what's any different now when my expectations and wishes are different? How do I know you're not just playing along and being who I want you to be and saying what I want you to say?" Her dulcet tones that he usually enjoyed had a sharp edge. "Or was everything you said then even true? You could easily have been lying."

That didn't just strike a nerve but caused a slice of pain across his heart. No wonder she was acting so conflicted and unusual since the moment they met again after all those years: she didn't know whether to believe anything he'd said back then. _She's smarter than that, I know it. I think it more she doesn't want it to be true than actually believing that rubbish._

"Look at me, Sarah," he said firmly. When he was sure he had all her attention, he continued even though it was extremely difficult to say the things he was about to say. Being vulnerable once and receiving rejection was bad enough, but to relive those moments a second time was not without struggle. "I swear that I only lied to you once. Just once when I said I'd turn the baby into a goblin, because I really had no intentions to since there are more than enough of those running around. You see, lying is for cowards and fools and I don't consider myself either one."

"What about the labyrinth and all your games you played? It's built to deceive!"

"Perhaps, but didn't that dwarf and the worm tell you: things aren't always what they seem, so you can't take anything for granted. It wasn't built to deceive, it was built to keep anyone from beating it." Jareth gave her a bit of a sly grin. "I may be King of the Goblins, but I can assure—as you can already see quite well—that I am not one of them."

Sarah searched his eyes very intently for what felt a lifetime—a lifetime of hers, certainly not his or that _would_ have been forever.

"You were under my power," he said when she didn't speak, "but that also meant I was under yours. Your wishes and dreams I could sense like a whisper of a thought, and so I did much of what you desired, even the things you didn't even realise were your wishes. It affected some things, yes, but not everything. I was not your puppet just as you weren't mine. Except the fate of the baby, everything I said was true and everything I said was what _I _wanted to say."

At last something broke through the walls she'd hastily built up around her as soon she returned to his kingdom, and he could see it in her eyes. Her rigid posture relaxed almost imperceptibly as a weight lifted from her shoulders.

He turned around to hide the relief he was sure wrote itself all over his face. He walked a few paces forward and surveyed the area. Every once in a while he meandered through his great creation to inspect its state and well-being, especially with so many creatures at their own will living within its walls. Like those blasted fireys and their penchant for throwing around heads and legs.

When Jareth glanced back at Sarah she was standing after bending over to pick something up from the ground and then fingered it in her hands while examining it.

"We will return to the castle," he said. "I don't intend to linger out here."

Her head lifted, then she nodded silently.

Since it wasn't exactly a short walk and he didn't feel like walking through the junkyard or the Goblin City, they would use his magic to instantly return, but hopefully Sarah was willing. Or he would just do it without warning her.

She lifted the small item in her hand close to her nose, and he realised she was smelling a flower. Then he saw what kind of flower.

"Sarah, no!" he cried with an outstretched arm.

But it was too late.

The bright blue flower speckled with black along its soft petals dropped from her hands and her eyes fluttered shut as her body went limp. Jareth leaped forward to catch her before she fell.

"Nightdream," he muttered angrily.

He swept up her legs so he could carry her, giving a curt sigh that the first time she was in his arms she was unconscious.

* * *

><p><strong>NOTE:<strong> I found this amusing. Maybe it's just me...But to give a slight spoiler for next chapter, we meet again with some very familiar characters who all love Sarah very much...

Please review! It makes me so incredibly happy to open my e-mail and find that people have given me some feedback :). And I'll be off to help with junior high camp for a week, so I'll see you all on the other side!


	11. Open and Closed Within Your Eyes

**A/N**: I'M ALIVE! Ha, but really, it's good to have an actual moment to attend to my poor fanfic which has been sadly neglected most the summer :D. And my dear readers! Summer has been really amazing with the kids camps and a million plus weddings though. How about you all? Hope everyone has made fun summer memories! I must say, the delay has been greatly due to dabbling for the first time in wedding photography. Whew! It's quite an experience. Very stressful for the first time, haha! But it's always good to try what you're afraid or nervous to do...

Anywho, this was a fun chapter to write. A little difficult though because certain old friends show up and I find the simplest characters can be the hardest to capture. Maybe it's just me...GUESS WHAT? We find out what happened between Fiachna and Jareth!

Thanks to, **Kaytori, artseblis, VIAMB,** **Reine Shadow**, **TheWordMasterOfFiction, mearra,** and **boybandelflover** for your reviews! You guys sure know how to encourage a writer :).

Enjoy some old friends and a new not-so-much-a-friend (cuz that makes perfect sense...)!

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter Ten: Open and Closed Within Your Eyes<strong>

**...**

**...**

A cloud of malice and anger manifested in a physical mist of darkness around the room. To mortals or less magical creatures the gloom would be more felt than seen, but to the man who sat in the midst of it, it was a great comfort. The windows were drawn with thick curtains to close out the sun, and only a few candles lit the room with dim light flickering in shadows upon the walls of stone. This was his private chamber where no one dared disturb him.

Fiachna the Raven Mage sat in a throne-like seat carved of dark mahogany wood with a high back that reached a couple feet over his head. Yet his presence could not be dwarfed by any piece of furniture for he was a powerful being that bathed himself in undaunted arrogance and self-assurance.

Although it was questioned, he was not a creature of pure evil and yet he _was_ evil in his heart. He could walk beneath the sun in the day, but he preferred the shadows of evening that concealed and shrouded. He could pretend quite skilfully at a polite and friendly front, but he much preferred showing his true selfish nature that cared for no one but himself.

And that had been his first descent into the shadow: his selfishness and pride.

Fiachna arose from his chair and shoved open the doors. He blinked at the abrupt intrusion of sunlight, faint though it was, in the open hall where he glided through.

"Gerdol!" he yelled. "Gerdol, come here at once!"

A dwarf with shaggy black hair, swarthy skin, and deep brown eyes hurried out of the corner. His clothes were worn and dulled earthy colours, but his gaze was sharp. At times his incompetence earned him beatings, but mostly he proved rather useful to the mage who kept very little company. Only three servants—including Gerdol the dwarf—resided in his Black Tower in the Blue Mountains. If he could have done everything on his own, he gladly would've been rid of all company.

Gerdol wrung his hands and bowed low with his head nearly touching the floor. "Yes, Your Majesty?"

"Do you have the information I requested?"

"Of course, Master. New reports flew in just minutes ago."

"And?" Fiachna placed his hands on his hips and scowled.

Gerdol had been with the dark man long enough to grow somewhat accustomed to his behaviour and wasn't frightened by the grim façade anymore. He cleared his throat and said, "It's much as before. The ravens can't get past the walls or boundaries even when they try to fly over and haven't found anywhere they can gets in. Nothing else to report, Your Majesty. They haven't seen a thing yet."

"This is unacceptable," Fiachna growled.

"If I may, Master, suggest trying another plan?"

Fiachna turned his scowl on the dwarf and towered over him. Gerdol cowered a little and found his bravery waning fast under the wrath of the mage.

"Don't presume to advise me, slave. I'll do whatever I will. And I'd already considered another plan anyway that I just don't plan on sharing with you imbeciles until it can actually be enacted. Let's just say..."

He twirled his hand until black powder filled his palm. He threw out his hand, the black powder flying into the air and slithering into a whip that crashed against the wall. Gerdol jumped and stepped back. The mage's face twisted with satisfaction as he released the whip and it dissolved into nothing.

"Let's just say that the Summer Solstice may not be such a happy event this year."

Fiachna let his cloud of anger suffuse him as his thoughts turned to his enemy: Jareth the Goblin King. They had been neutral acquaintances for a little while and then something shifted when Fiachna visited the goblin kingdom, saw the intricate labyrinth, but was not permitted to enter. No one else was either, but a seed was planted. Not long afterwards they attended a Sidhe Court event where the mage stood by and watched as many of the lovely Fey maidens eyed Jareth appraisingly and listened as many of the conversations spoke the Goblin King's name in awe or curiosity. Jealousy grew in the mage's heart at all the attention, praise, and fear the other Sidhe received. Why not him? Why not Fiachna who also had good looks and power and anything else they should want?

The seed grew roots that clutched deep and readied a sprout that would form into the open air for all to see.

He lashed out then before many eyes and ears with insults towards Jareth. The worst part was that Jareth laughed it off and seemed unaffected even as he belittled Fiachna in front of all those same people.

"_Oh, look! It is the Goblin King," Fiachna said with a sneer as said man walked past. "Such a pitiful creature to rule such a pitiful kingdom. It's a place to keep those we wish to forget or put away with the rest of the wretched creatures."_

_Jareth paused in midstride, sending a gleam of satisfaction through the mage. He turned round and looked down at Fiachna with a cool, collected face that showed no sign of irritation or anger. "And you are? Ah yes. The Raven Mage. I'd almost forgotten." He chuckled to himself and continued on his way. _

All was said in hearing and sight of many Sidhe who whispered to one another once the two parted ways. Fiachna's chest burned with anger at the casual demeaning as though the king thought him a child to be chided and ignored. His pride was too great to bear such an insult without recompense.

A mild feud had begun.

But gradually it transformed into a stronger one when the two exchanged more than harsh words. Instead it was with real snares laid for each other. Fiachna ignited more than apathy when he tried trapping Jareth with an awful curse that would have disfigured him. When it failed, that pale-haired arrogant king showed up at Fiachna's old home—the Raven Manor—and laid snares all around it so the mage was trapped in his own residence for weeks while trying to disarm them. When he failed—which was often—it would pierce him like a hundred knives or knock him unconscious.

The continual reminders of his lesser power drove him mad. So he was left to nurse his wounds and plot eventual revenge when he'd increased his strength and ability. The years passed, and the feud dwindled until the mage himself did not give it great thought.

The Raven Mage had other enemies as well, certainly, but when rumour whispered upon the air that some mortal had beaten Jareth's labyrinth at last, he leaped on that opportunity to find a weakness to get to his enemy. Even more deliciously, he discovered at last after a few years that it wasn't just _some_ mortal but a mortal girl who was rather lovely. Then it slipped into place. At first the plan had been to find out the secret to beating the labyrinth so he could do so and defeat the king, but then he realised there was more to it. It seemed Jareth finally showed a powerful weakness after all that had nothing to do with the walls around his kingdom but rather the walls around his heart.

Fiachna intended to expose that soft spot. The girl would be his and then Jareth would bow before him begging for mercy. The taste of revenge was like a phantom on his tongue.

"Soon," he murmured to himself. "Very soon."

* * *

><p>"Stop shoving! You almost crushed my poor foot!"<p>

"Ludo sorry."

"Oh stop that nonsense you two. Our lady is resting! We mustn't wake the poor girl."

Darkness receded and consciousness slowly seeped back to her mind like storm clouds rolling away from the sun. The voices that pierced through the shadowed haze sounded oddly familiar as if from some distant memory that kept slipping through her fingers. The three of them hushed when she stirred gently in the soft and silken cocoon of warmth wrapped around her body.

"She's waking up!"

"Shh! Not so loud."

Although her eyelids felt like heavy weights, Sarah's eyes fluttered open at last, and she returned to the waking world.

"Sawah!"

The first thing she saw were three faces huddled in front of her to the side of the bed, three faces she knew well and loved well. The drowsiness sloughed off a bit more, and she smiled.

There were Hoggle, Ludo, and Sir Didymus all standing close watch as she came out of sleep. Their eyes were wide with concern and excitement, and it seemed they all were having trouble keeping their tongues in check so as not to overwhelm her. A wide yawn cracked her jaw. She pushed up to sit and face them.

"My friends," she said with her smile still radiating.

The three let off a shout of delight all at once and tried talking to her all at the same time as well.

Sarah put up her hands. "Whoa, whoa, whoa! Slow down. I can't talk to all of you at once."

"My lady! May we say we are extremely glad to see you," said Sir Didymus with a bow as he swept off his hat. His whiskers twitched. "It's been quite a wait seeing when you'd wake up."

"Sorry to have kept you all waiting," she said with a laugh. It felt wonderful to laugh and feel light again.

"Ah, don't listen to him," said Hoggle with a wave of his hand, "there's nothing bad about waiting for ya. Don't think it's been that long actually since—" He coughed and looked away. "Well since Jareth told us you were here."

"So he did tell you," she said. "I wasn't sure if he would."

Ludo bent forward, accidentally pushing Hoggle a little. "Sawah okay?"

"Yes, Ludo, I'm doing great. I'm just so glad to see all of you! I've missed you..."

Now that they were here she vividly remembered that night before everything fell apart when she'd tried to call for them in the mirror and no one answered or showed up. That had never happened before then. Yet here they were happy and as friendly as always.

They all exchanged curious glances.

"Missed Sawah too," said Ludo.

Sir Didymus shoved his hat back on. "We certainly did," he said.

"But...why didn't you come?" said Sarah. "I know it'd been a while since I asked for you to visit, but when I finally did...none of you came."

Her three friends all frowned and exchanged another round of looks, and Hoggle shrugged his shoulders.

"Are you sure? We didn't feel nothing," said the dwarf with his gruff voice. "We thought maybe you'd, you know, forgotten about us." He hung his head and scraped his foot along the ground.

"How could I forget any of you? You're all so dear to me. You're my friends! I...I know that things changed the older I got, so I'm sorry for that, but I never forgot you. I thought I didn't need you guys anymore, but I was wrong. You're still important to me and I still need you."

"Thank you, my lady," said Sir Didymus with another bow. He always was one for chivalry and formality. "We could never forget you either. There is no one more dear to us."

Her brilliant smile returned to wash them all in her warmth and radiance. None of them understood why the connection had been lost, but they spent a great deal of time catching up, talking, and laughing together like they sometimes did in the first couple years. Of course Sir Didymus had some grand tales of adventure to tell in full detail, and Hoggle was curious if she brought anymore 'plastic' with her or other forms of jewellery. Ludo never had a lot to say, but he grinned at her with those tusks protruding and nodded his head at certain things.

After a while, Sarah paused and realised there was something she didn't quite remember. "Do any of you know why I was sleeping? I don't remember coming in here or deciding to take a nap..."

"Eh, Jareth just said you were sleeping and to wait till you was awake," said Hoggle. "We thought you were napping."

"I am terribly sorry, my lady, but we don't really know," Sir Didymus said with a tilt of his head. "As the good dwarf stated, His Majesty did not tell us anything except that you were here in the castle and wished to see us. At first I thought it a joke! Then we saw you lying here so peacefully in your bed."

"Sawah forget?" asked Ludo with a frown of concern.

She threw off the coverlets and got out of bed. As soon as her feet touched the floor memories poured back into place. She remembered running out of the Goblin City, through the junkyard, and into the forest. Then the fireys surrounded her to play one of their awful games. And the Goblin King. He'd come to her rescue yet again, albeit with much less at stake than the first time.

Last of all returned the words they'd exchanged, and her heart ached in her chest to remember. As much as she fought to stay on the less confusing path of believing the king to be untrustworthy and villainous, that fight had come to an end in the golden-lit wood. It turned out he wasn't much of a liar or a villain. Looking into his icy blue eyes when he spoke was more what convinced her of the truth than his actual words—although those certainly struck her as well—because there in their fathomless depths a single lie or word of deceit couldn't be found. Only sincerity. And a little bit of discomfort at speaking so plainly, she guessed.

But knowing all those things he told her were pure truth twisted her stomach in knots. She still believed him to be a little dangerous, but not towards her perhaps. _Wow. He really...he really did want me to give up everything for him._

"Uh, Sarah?" Hoggle asked timidly. "Don't mean to be pushy and all, but uh...what're you doing back here? Jareth didn't make you run that awful labyrinth again, did he?"

"If he has captured my lady," Sir Didymus cried and brandished his small sword, "then your friends will help you escape!"

Hoggle cursed under his breath after nearly losing an ear from the fox's zealous sword-brandishing and scooted closer to Ludo.

"No, no it's nothing like that," Sarah insisted. She began walking around the room a little to stretch her legs. "It's...complicated. I'm not sure if I can tell you. But I'm here by choice and not because he's stolen someone or captured me. He's actually helping me."

"What?"

"Impossible!"

"No..."

"My lady! Could we not help you instead?" offered Sir Didymus.

"I'm afraid not. He's the only one who can."

"Well." The fox sniffed and became at a loss for words.

"Don't trust 'im," said the dwarf in a low voice. "He's as slippery as a fish, Jareth is, and he always gets what he wants."

Sarah turned away and looked out one of the windows. "Not always," she whispered, but none of them heard her. Louder, she said, "But you're going to have to trust _me._ Maybe I will tell you soon, but I'm not sure if it's safe yet."

That was not the right thing to say. Now she'd worried them even more.

"I'll be all right! Don't any of you worry a hair on your heads because everything will be just fine. I'm sure it won't be long before it's all over and..." _And I'll go back home and leave you all again._

"If you say so, my lady," said the fiery fox in a softer tone than usual.

Ludo lumbered over towards her, his red fur swaying gently. He put out a hand to touch her. "Sawah safe."

She laughed softly and put her hand over his giant one. "Yes, Ludo, I really am." The words weren't just to reassure her friends, but a bit of a revelation to her also.

At that moment another figure appeared in the room. Sarah still was getting used to him just popping up without warning wherever he pleased, although it was a bit disconcerting when it was her bedroom.

The dwarf, the monster, and the fox reacted a lot more noticeably than she did with jumps and yelps and cowering. Her heart picked up its pace a little, but she was drawn more to her curiosity about their earlier conversation. She realised she wasn't sure how to act around him anymore. They certainly weren't friends, but they weren't adversaries either. The Goblin King: always confounding her.

"I see you're awake," he said with his smooth tones. Then he turned his gaze on her visitors. "Leave us."

The command affected the three differently. Hoggle still was afraid of him, Ludo never seemed sure what to do, and Sir Didymus submitted even though it was obvious he'd rather fight. They all bid fond farewells to Sarah before filing out the door and leaving the two alone. Yes, her heartbeat definitely was pounding now that her friends were gone, but she always tried to hide her nerves.

"What happened?" she asked before another silence full of long gazes and awkwardness could happen.

"Nightdream," he said with a gleam in his eye most likely for some other reason. "It's the unfortunate flower you decided to smell, a flower that—when it blooms—causes sleep to fall quite suddenly on whoever breathes it in."

"Well no wonder it's all a blur."

His posture shifted and a crease appeared between his arched brows.

"I mean, everything as soon as I smelt the flower. Not before then." She avoided looking at his face.

His expressions and emotions were extremely difficult to read sometimes, and she had to search for the barest subtleties to understand. Here she felt _her_ mind and heart were usually written all over her face, but here he could hold his composure through any situation if that's what he thought best. Maybe he'd had lots of practise. How old was he anyway? It'd probably be extremely rude to ask; not to mention finding out his real age would likely make her feel very odd since she'd be admitting to finding a man hundreds of years old alluring.

"I realised I'm not really at ease having the goblins serve you," he said. "So I had someone else better suited for a woman than those creatures. That's the only reason, mind you."

"Oh."

Here was another moment that threw her off balance. He seemed to actually be kind, and then the next remark out of his mouth negated it. Or was he trying too hard to make sure she thought she wasn't any special guest? And men thought women were confusing...

The Goblin King tilted his body towards the door. A moment later the old woman named Mary walked through and dipped a curtsy.

"Evening, my lady."

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><p>NOTE: Reviews are precious. I want some preciousness...<p>

But even if you don't drop me some feedback, I'm grateful to all you reading my story! Have a lovely day!


	12. Too Much Rejection

**A/N:** Hello everyone! Soo guess what movie I watched last night? You guys are so smart. How'd you know? Yep, it was Labyrinth! It was actually much needed because sometimes you lose the "muse" or whatever, and so it was good to get it back for this story. I'm so appreciative of the response so far! You guys blow me away :). As all you who've reviewed have found out, I really like to respond back (unless it's something like "love it! update soon!) and interact with my readers, so I try to comment back to you all :). I feel like it's a courtesy...

So Ludo, Hoggle, and Sir Didymus made their appearance last chapter, but I have to admit...they won't be in the story a great deal because I just don't feel it necessary. I'd rather focus more on Jareth and Sarah, the plot, etc. They will make their appearances at times, especially Hoggle who plays an important role, so no worries there. I must say, I enjoy Mary and the conversation she and Sarah have in this chapter :)

**Lylabeth:** Wow. Your compliment knocked my socks off. That is a very high compliment indeed! Thank you so much for reading and for letting me know your opinion. I actually am intending to publish novels, so the fanfics are just for fun but just as important to me to be well-written. Thanks for the recommendations as well. Although I might wait until I'm done with this one so I don't accidentally steal any ideas :). I'm so thankful for your review!

**rubi:** You may not be here yet, but your remark made me laugh :D. Hm, I may have to look into that...

Special thanks to my lovely reviewers:** Lylabeth, rubi, TheWordMasterOfFiction, Kaytori, Reine Shadow, , boybandelflover, mearra, SpyGirl1969, silentlamb9, Unique Fantasiser**, and a **Guest.**

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><p><strong>Chapter Eleven: Too Much Rejection<strong>

**...**

**...**

Days began to pass in the Underground like the tides of the sea sweeping up across the sands in unbroken rhythm. Most of them were not nearly as eventful as the first few days, but Sarah had begun to learn a great deal about this exciting world that she'd only glimpsed before. Her old friends saw her often either in the castle or outside somewhere close whether it was one of them or all three of the friendly creatures. She also was exposed in great quantities to the goblins themselves who looked outlandish or even a little frightening, but each day they became more like children to her eyes—ugly, impish children she sometimes wanted to toss out a window.

Mary remained her maid since that day the Goblin King appointed her. In very little time Sarah learned two things about Mary: one, she was Irish; and two, she wouldn't take any sort of nonsense. What puzzled her was Mary's avoidance of real conversation no matter how much Sarah insisted she wasn't a servant to her, rather a fellow human being. She did act pretty grandmotherly though. It was a start.

But there was someone she saw less of than before. The King of the Goblins mysteriously evaded her company or stayed busy ruling his kingdom from his throne either in solitude or surrounded by a slew of rowdy goblins that left the room a huge mess. She saw him in passing most days at least once, although there had been days she didn't have even one glimpse of him; but she didn't know how to feel about it. On one hand she was relieved simply because she wasn't fond of the knots in her stomach whenever he was around, but on the other hand she was disappointed that he stayed distant when she was so curious about his person. If anything intrigued her about this place, he was it: the enigmatic, immortal king with an invisible fortress raised up around him.

What she didn't know was that being destined to defeat the labyrinth and overcome his challenge, she'd also been destined to scale the walls of his heart. Jareth was fully aware and waited for the day Sarah acknowledged that victory.

Sarah meandered through the castle one day when she couldn't find anything else to do. Afternoon was coming to a close as the sun fell towards the horizon and turned the light a rusty warm shade while the Eastern sky faded to a deep blue. A cool breeze blew from the North with a scent like flowers and fresh air from the mountaintops.

While she walked down a corridor and reached a short flight of stairs, she glanced up and froze in place.

There stood the Goblin King in all his glory leaning forward with his hands gripping the window ledge. The orange light set fire to his skin and softened his angular features a little while it turned his spiked hair to a deep gold. His profile was finely chiselled with its touch of inhuman quality enhancing his noble features. The grim set of his thin mouth and the expression of his oddly mismatched eyes enhanced his brooding posture, a mood she had never seen him in. Most likely because he hadn't allowed her to see him in it, but this was a rare moment where he didn't seem to notice her and allotted her precious time to study him without his equally watchful gaze.

After the incident in the forest, she became aware of her childish assumptions and prejudices based only on the past in the eyes of her fifteen-year-old self. Now she was older, what one might call an adult. She'd seen a lot of the world and a wide variety of people. As a theatre actress and eventually a aspiring playwright character study had become a hobby then a habit, and here was quite the study standing before her. Many things she'd thought were being tossed out the window just like that peach he'd left her the first morning. The posture struck her not just as brooding but as something more.

Was the Goblin King...lonely?

In all her time she'd been concerned with only Toby, her friends, and herself. What about this mysterious figure? His behaviour was much like a goblin sometimes, but beyond that was so much more. What was he? Not one other being here resembled anything like him, let alone a human, except the man who'd been Bran and turned into the Raven Mage. They must've been of the same race, but that still left the king alone within his kingdom.

For the very first time, she pitied the Goblin King. His angry words echoed in her mind: _"Always asking things of me. Always wanting from me. And always expecting it to be done freely." _Everyone sought something from him, especially her, but did anyone really give in return? True, she still didn't know his life very well or who he knew beyond the Goblin Kingdom, and yet she suspected it was still the truth.

If only he'd known what the simple accidental intrusion accomplished in Sarah's heart, he would have tried to cause it sooner. However, the timing was perfect. For Sarah to understand, she had to catch a glimpse of his true emotions that would only show clearly when stumbled upon at unawares.

A transformation had begun within her, and at last her heart turned towards him first with pity. That pity was quickly transforming into sympathy. The jaded eyes. The slouched shoulders. The grim determination. He was another one of the lonely, a place she knew all too well. After years of feeling out of place and then having the worst heartbreak of her life when Christopher left, that one spark of sympathy was enough to tie another thread to this solitary king.

In her heart she determined that she would do something for him. She would do something in return for all the kindness he showed in protecting her from his own enemy.

Sarah backed out of view quietly when the tall king stirred and moved back from the window ledge. Then she disappeared back into the halls of the castle.

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><p>The sun was set and night washed over the land with a blanket of deep velvety blue scattered with stars like bits of crystal shattered over the sky. Birds of the night called out into the chill air, and creatures of the evening crawled among the deep shadows. In the castle, candles and lamps were lit along the corridors and in particular rooms so that the windows shone gold against the dark of night.<p>

Sarah often took meals in her quarters or in a room she'd found when she first explored the castle that reminded her of a parlour. It didn't seem like something that normally would be in such a place, but she didn't question it. She just enjoyed it while it was there.

There were couches and chairs draped with fine covers of black and dark blue with pillows strewn across of the same colours with the bright addition of silver. The designs on some were intricate and delicate. Two large chandeliers made of pure silver that reminded her of the ones in the masquerade dream hung from the ceiling. A round table with a couple cushioned stools sat close to the windows set up on a raised level that spanned half the room in an arched crescent.

Mary waltzed in with dinner in her hands and set it on the table. She tossed her long grey braid over her shoulder and began to leave without saying a word.

Sarah wouldn't have it. "Mary! Stay with me."

The older woman eyed her quietly but didn't continue towards the door.

"I would really like it if you ate dinner with me. Whatever he told you, or whatever you think things should be like, all this time I've just wanted to sit and talk with you." Sarah stood and looked her in the eye. "I don't know why you don't want to talk to me, but I wish you would."

Mary sighed heavily and nodded. "Sorry my dear. After all these years livin' with goblins, you get worried you're not good company for other folk."

"Don't worry about that." Sarah smiled. "There's no need to impress me or anything of that nonsense. If you knew my friend Ludo, you wouldn't worry about it a bit."

"You're just a strange sight to see here, ya know. Thought you were a dream at first or some trick of Jareth's. Turns out I was wrong. I also didn't know how long you planned to be here or if you were another one of those wished away to this place; but that's what puzzled me. Not one of them's been treated like you have."

"I wasn't taken by the goblins," said Sarah. "But I'll tell you that story when we're settled in. Come on. Sit down."

They sat at the table, and Mary looked rather awkward on the stool. It was obvious she felt she didn't belong as she squirmed a little and hunched forward. It was strange considering the woman was normally brassy and confident.

"There's so much I'd like to ask, but I don't want to overwhelm you. Can I just start with one question?"

"Ask anything you like." Her Irish accent wasn't terribly thick; like a thin layer of icing on a cake. "Really, I haven't had a decent talk in a long time and I don't mind you throwing out all the questions you like. Well...maybe."

"How did you end up here?"

"Ah, thought that might be it," said Mary with another sigh. "I was only a lass of four, so I don't remember a great deal anymore, but I'll tell ya what I do. It's not a happy tale, I'll warn ya."

"If you're okay telling me, then I'm willing to listen. Unhappy stories mean just as much as the happier ones."

"All right then. Go ahead and eat girl! Me mum didn't want me since I was born, but it wasn't till I was older that she finally did somethin' about it. She never treated me well. I often was hungry, had clothes worn to holes, and was alone. Oh don't worry, dear, it doesn't pain me to talk of it. It's been such a long time and now I'm old! One day she got angry with me for asking a question and cried into the night for the goblins to come take me. And can you imagine? They did. Bet that gave her a good ol' surprise, it did. Here in this castle I sat wondering what'd happened, and there appeared a grand and lordly man who frightened the wits out of me. Didn't find out till I was older that he offered me mum the chance to run the labyrinth to get me back, but she didn't hesitate one moment before saying 'no.' It broke my little heart, but eventually I was glad since she gave me only enough to barely survive, and here I had to work my keep but I always had enough to eat and a place to sleep. That was enough."

"So...you chose to stay here?"

"That's right. Jareth gave me a choice when I got up in age a bit. Where else was I to go? There's other kingdoms, sure, but for a woman alone it isn't very wise to go off looking. I stayed here as a servant to him. And I've been here ever since. Nothin' to complain about."

Sarah took in the tragic tale for a moment. Serving here really would be preferable to the life Mary had had. Although, being around the goblins all day could wear on one's nerves. She realised how much patience their king must have to have been doing it for hundreds of years.

"You like it here?" she asked.

Mary shrugged and finally relaxed a little on the stool. "I suppose I do. It's...different...than the other world I remember, but it's where I've been almost all my life. And that's been quite a long time!" She chuckled and looked around the room. "Those critters can fray the nerves, certainly. I've kicked a good lot of them in my lifetime."

"Kicked them?" Sarah couldn't help but laugh a little at the image that presented. Maybe she'd have to try it next time one of them tried to follow her around everywhere. "Have there been any others while you've been around?"

"No, not a one. Well, one little lad back years ago, but he didn't stay." Mary levelled her with a steady gaze and a gleam in her eye full of knowing. "They say a young lass came for him and beat that labyrinth for the first time. She must've been pretty brave, that lass. It takes a lot of courage and determination to win somethin' like that that's made to be lost."

Sarah blushed and kept her eyes on the table. She twirled her fork around on the plate.

Mary smiled a little. "I'd also say she left a lasting impression on the maker of the labyrinth."

"Did she?" Sarah breathed softly.

"No one's beat it, they say, except that girl. And no one's received so much attention from him either. I'd say she overcame a lot more than some ancient maze."

Sarah's blush deepened. It was exhilarating and bizarre to finally be having a normal conversation with someone who knew all about this place and its inhabitants. A burden truly lifted from her heart and mind. She still didn't know how to respond to the old woman's remarks though.

"What's the matter, dearie?" said Mary leaning forward that cheeky grin. "You embarrassed yet? How about I tell ya a story then. It's about a young lass who got herself into an even bigger embarrassment."

That brought the younger woman's head back up, and the deep pink in her cheeks faded a little.

"She was about sixteen or so with long blond locks, brown eyes, and a willowy frame. Not ugly. Not beautiful either. She served a king for many years, but one day she looked on him a lot differently than before because she was growing up. A funny thing happens then. Boys are dirty and loud, and then...then you can't stay away from them! Suddenly this king looked like a prince out of a fairytale or a god out of mythology to such young starry eyes like hers. She started putting herself in his way as often as she could and sending him smiles that hurt her face she tried so hard. That king ignored the silly lass—as well he should—and paid no mind to her poor efforts, a child trying to catch his eye when she had nothin' to catch it with. She pined away for him a few more years without a single response. Finally she learned how foolish she was being and put a stop to it. Life then went on as it had before. But she learned her lesson, she did. Made herself a fool before a king."

It was difficult to imagine Mary being so young and trying to flirt with the Goblin King. The image made Sarah hide a smile behind her hand, and her eyes danced with silent laughter. Mary saw her reaction and mirrored the expression but without hiding her smile.

"I know, I was very silly wasn't I?" she said with another light chuckle. "You've got to admit, he's always been good for the eye but he had no eye for me. It tickles me now, but then I thought my heart was broke into a thousand pieces! Ha! Lasses and their silliness."

"Yes," murmured Sarah. "We are very silly, aren't we?"

Mary raised a finger at her. "Ah, but there's more than one kind of silliness, dearie. Beware. Sometimes we can turn the opposite direction and be silly on that side. Just watch with eyes open. Don't you close them too long."

Before Sarah could decipher Mary's riddles, the old woman got to her feet and shook out her skirts. She tugged at her swaying braid. Sarah had eaten most the food, so she picked up the dishes.

"You know what?" she said as she lifted her chin. "You don't need to clean up. I'll do it."

"Oh no, there's no need. You belong here, not in the servants' quarters. This is where you belong."

That single phrase had more meaning to Sarah than perhaps the older woman realised. She stared at her a few moments.

"No, I insist. It's time I helped with something around here instead of amusing myself every day. I don't want to just leech off of him—I mean, any of you really. I'd like to help somehow."

Mary regarded her with a discerning eye, keen with long years. "He doesn't see it that way, I'll bet. Like I said, he treats you different. No one ever comes back, they say, yet here you are: the little lass who beat the labyrinth and beat Jareth."

"But the things he said..."

"Was he angry when he said them?"

"Well, yes..."

"Then be careful. Things aren't always what they seem."

Things aren't always what they seem. That's precisely what Sarah had said those years back while traversing the labyrinth: t_hings aren't always what they seem in this place_. Did that mean the creator of the labyrinth wasn't much different than his creation?

"Thank you, Mary. It was wonderful talking with you. It's nice to have someone, especially a woman, to talk to. My other friends are great too, but...they're not human."

"You know, it _was_ wonderful." Mary patted her arm and smiled, soft dimples in her rosy cheeks. "Come to me anytime you need someone to talk to again. You still owe me your tale about yourself and what happened your first time here; not to mention what you're doing back. I thought you were a, uh, a mistress for the king because he was lonely or in want of a woman, but then it was clear it wasn't of that nature. I'm not sure a Fay needs that sort or not anyway, but that's what I thought. Sorry I did. Assumptions are usually rot, you see."

"Oh." Sarah's skin turned red from her face to her neck. "Oh. Uh...well, I'm glad you realised that wasn't the case." She hastily changed topic course. "A Fay? You mean, that's what he is then?"

"Oh yes! One of the Sidhe. In the land of my home, in Ireland, we had lots of tales about them which is why me mum yelled what she did."

"Are there more of them?"

"You wonder if he's the only one. There sure are more of them, although I've never seen any, just heard with my ears. I'd certainly like to see more! They're a wondrous lot, they are. But he's alone here and doesn't seem to mind it."

Sarah wasn't sure if that was true. Maybe he didn't mind being the only Fay, but he certainly seemed weighted by the solitude—lately at least. How had he lasted this long? Suddenly there was a wealth of knowledge of his past that she longed to explore.

She determined that he wouldn't be able to avoid her any longer. They were going to have a real conversation whether he wanted it or not. This time she wasn't the one running away.

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><p><strong>Fun Fact:<strong> The term 'Sidhe' is pronounced 'shee' since it's originally Irish. Yep. I used to think of it as 'sid' or something in my head till I found out...

**Note:** Let me know what you think so far! The story still has a few important places to go, and things will get rolling right along very soon. Let's get some more reviews going!


	13. I'll Place the Sky Within Your Eyes

**A/N: **Wow.

That's my response to all you guys who reviewed. Just...wow. I am so extremely encouraged, humbled, and excited by the response left by all you amazing people! Truly. It makes me want to finish strong on this story so you can all thoroughly enjoy it in its entirety. If you guys as readers aren't enjoying it, then why would I share it? So I'm so excited that you lovely folks are on board ;)

Yep. That's all I have to say. Oh...and this has some, um, lovely parts that we all look forward to...heh. From this point on, the story will have a lot of creative license by me because it's going to grow and move away from the smaller realm of the movie. In an exciting way of course!

Thanks to all who reviewed:, **mearra, TheWordMasterOfFiction, CompleteBookworm** **2**, **Kaytori, SpyGirl1969, Elisabeth Sinclaire, The Queen of Water, DreamTea,** and **Guest** (:D).

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><p><strong>Chapter Twelve: I'll Place the Sky Within Your Eyes<strong>

**...**

**...**

A few days after Mary and Sarah's conversation, a strange thing happened.

As if he could sense Sarah's change of heart—which she suspected was possible—the Goblin King sought her first before she could find him.

She had begun wearing the dresses hung in her armoire more than the jeans the longer she stayed. At first she'd avoided them out of stubbornness and suspicion, but eventually she looked at them with longing and felt the fine fabric between her fingertips. It would be a shame to leave them unworn, of course. The one she pulled out that day was a pale coral with cream and gold flowers embroidered along the neckline, the sleeves, and the hem. A golden girdle wrapped around the waist. When she had it on and it fit her slender frame perfectly, she turned around in the mirror and sighed. She was trying not to get caught up in gifts and being treated like a princess, but it was very difficult when everything was what she'd always wanted.

In fact, the gowns and casual dresses were so fine that it was surprising there wasn't a casket of jewels too. She wouldn't have worn them though, and maybe that's why the king decided to tamper the lavish gifts down at least a little. That in itself was slightly surprising after the seduction he'd tried to pull in the dream masquerade with all the fancy gowns, jewels, crystal chandeliers, and offers of anything she ever wanted.

_Just let me rule you, and you can have everything that you want_.

"Oh no!" she gasped as she looked in the mirror. "I've given him power over me again by asking for something! What have I done?" Her fingers touched the smooth fabric formed to her figure till her lower waist even as the constant internal struggle within her began afresh. It'd been calm for so long.

She collapsed on the stool sitting at the vanity and rested her head in her hands. "Oh, what to do?"

The door opened in its casual manner. Her head jerked up. Only two people walked into her room without asking permission, but she settled when she rationed that it must be Mary to actually use the door.

"Mary, I'm glad you're here. There's something I wanted to—" Her lips pressed together when the Goblin King stepped inside instead of the wiry old maid.

"Well, I'm certainly not Mary," he said with that infernal curl to his lips as though so much of what she did or said amused him. Or as if he knew so much more that was going on. "But hopefully that isn't too much of a disappointment."

"I'm not sure," she murmured. She boldly searched his face for a long space of silence that he was content to maintain. The defined features that once had beguiled her still held the same powerful draw.

"Come with me," he said.

It broke the stillness that had entwined around them until the rest of the world fell away, as though wandering into a dream where no one else walked and they had no pretences to hide behind. No masks. Just like...

"Come," he repeated a little more firmly.

That rich, crisp voice drew her off the stool towards him. It still felt as if they were somewhere beyond reality where no one else could intervene. _No matter how I try to run, I'm always drawn back to him. Maybe I wanted him to have power over me again..._

He led her down familiar halls towards the courtyard where the large tower reached up into the sky. They did not walk side-by-side but with the king one step ahead of her on the right. When they passed into the courtyard and kept going, Sarah glanced up at the spire towering over them in apprehension. What was he planning?

Sure enough, he brought them up the small steps to the door.

"I thought you didn't want me in here?" she said before he opened it.

He looked down at her. "At first, that is true. But now I'd like to show you something." His blue eyes took in the expression creasing concern in the corners of her eyes. "Still suspicious, Sarah? I was hoping for at least a little more trust than before."

She turned her head away. He hesitated only a moment more. The door opened and they walked into a bare room with a ceiling much lower than all the vaulted ones of the rest of the castle. It was of the same solid, sandy rock. A winding stairway curved up along the edges of the tower and up those large steps they went at a steady pace kept by his long legs. He didn't hurry, though, so she could keep up.

For the last three weeks the tower had drawn her curiosity, but each time she tried the door, it was locked. Clearly she hadn't been allowed inside, and yet here he was taking her straight in and up to its higher quarters. The mysteriousness of it all was tantalising.

Each step was closer to discovering another secret. Any of the doubt or dread she felt before they passed through the door now waned and completely disappeared under the light that was her wondrous anticipation.

In some small way, she really did trust the Goblin King. Her fear that she would be locked up here at the top suddenly seemed rather silly. He wouldn't do that to her.

The spiralling stairs were walled in and not very broad across so that even two people couldn't walk abreast. A window let in some light here and there but otherwise everything was sparse. At last a door came into sight around the corner up at the very top. Her excitement flared. Only a minute more and she'd know what was hidden away high in the castle.

The king paused and glanced over his shoulder at her, an arched brow and sloped nose all she could see. But his eyes. His mismatched eyes were very intent. A shudder ran down to her toes.

With one of his long elegant hands he unlatched the dark green door laid with brass and pushed it in. He stepped aside while beckoning her inside with a grim smile on his lips, and it turned out he hadn't exactly left much room to squeeze by. She brushed past so close that she caught a scent of something uniquely him—like a cool moonlit night, leather, and another faint fragrance she couldn't explain—and felt some of his pale hair catch in her dark strands. Another shiver rippled through her.

Then her attention was completely occupied by the vaulted chamber that opened up before them.

It was circular just as the tower was shaped, about thirty feet across, and lined with three windows on two different sides that reached almost to the ceiling. One could look out over the land, but here the very heavens were the beautiful vista sweeping out across the open windows in pale blue with a few wisps of cloud. A large table rested in the middle of the room on a thick black rug touched with silver scroll patterns, and on the table were maps and charts of the stars, brass instruments, and some crystal weights that held the parchment down. Shelves lined the far curved wall full of leather-bound books and other assortments of objects set between them on display. Some looked like small figures, others of some crystal or gem-like substance, and a few artefacts from this fantastical world that she didn't recognise.

However, all this was secondary to what lay above.

Over the domed ceiling was painted the night sky in midnight shades of blue, purple, and black with stars sprinkled across as diamonds set within sable velvet. In fact, if Sarah wasn't mistaken, the stars did indeed look more than paint but as diamonds or white crystals placed high above in the dome to shine down upon this fascinating chamber.

Sarah glided forward with her neck craned back to gaze in wonder at the painted dome. The sun sent beams of light through the windows that flickered on the crystalline stars. This place surpassed her speculations by leaps and bounds.

"I see that you like it," the king said in a tone softer than he usually used. His eyes followed her every movement and breath.

"Like it? It's...it's amazing! No, not amazing. It's glorious! I wasn't expecting something so beautiful." She finally lowered her head as she meandered around the room. A large brass telescope perched before one of the middle windows, and she bent to look through it. "All of this...this is just wonderful. Here I thought the King of the Goblins just sat on his throne bullying goblins all day."

She laughed a little, then realised it wasn't something she exactly wanted to say out loud. She took a quick glance in his direction and caught that amused expression that often adorned his face.

"There are a great many things you don't know."

Her heart hesitated for a few beats. What was that supposed to mean? Well, she admitted freely to knowing little about the man and also admitted to wanting to know more. A lot more. He wove his riddles and suggestions around her like a mist that she couldn't see through very well, but it made her feel extremely ignorant because she knew the answers were staring her in the face. He was staring her in the face. In fact, it wasn't so much 'what' as 'why.' There was no hiding what he wanted seven years ago, but did he still want _her_? After what she did to him? She didn't think it was possible.

And yet...everything he was doing, he seemed to be doing it for her. Again.

_Everything I've done, I've done for you_.

So he had made his choice. Yet again he left the other half up to her. What was her choice? Would she refuse him a second time? Or had things changed since she was fifteen?

Oh things had certainly changed, but was it enough to make such a weighty decision? He seemed to have made it in so little time and with such certainty. She didn't have that certainty. She couldn't create that kind of certainty in such short time. Time. She needed time. Was he willing to give that as well along with all his other gifts?

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><p>Jareth glanced over his shoulder at Sarah Williams once more before opening the door to the Chamber of the Stars. This place was his sanctuary. It was where he came to be utterly alone. No one else had ever stepped foot in it.<p>

Until now.

Anticipation glittered in her eyes, and he sensed some of it transfer to him as he took a final breath prior to revealing another part of himself to her. This was a giant leap that made him highly uncomfortable; but he risked it because not long ago he sensed her dreams shifting.

He was capable of perceiving the dreams and wishes of mortals, but hers were fainter ever since she uttered the accursed words that loosed them from each other. And yet they were there if he concentrated enough, especially the more time that passed with her in the Underground.

And that was enough to persuade him to take another step deeper in.

The door creaked as he stepped through and motioned for her to follow, but he purposely gave her little space to pass by just for another chance to be close. It drove him mad, but it was worth it. She swept past near enough her shoulder brushed across the front of his shirt and leather vest with a lock of her rich dark hair catching with his.

If only she knew how much he'd given himself to her and desired to drink of her deeply. He was a Fay and did not give his heart lightly or to different women over time. It was her. Only her.

Then he saw the amazement etched into her delicate features: her lips parted in awe, her eyes widened to take in every detail, and her neck tilted back to gaze up at the domed ceiling painted with dark shades of night behind a smattering of stars. He allowed himself a genuine smile as he watched her waltz around the room drinking in all its beauty and intrigue. Sarah was like the rarest of gems with hundreds of facets to reflect light and beauty, and another of those facets he admired was her habit of searching out whatever was beautiful in the world around her. Once upon a time she'd declared many things 'not fair,' but the years had taught her to think differently and find the good of circumstances.

"I see that you like it," he said.

"Like it? It's...it's amazing! No, not amazing. It's glorious! I wasn't expecting something so beautiful." She lowered her head as she meandered around the room and stopped to look through his large brass telescope. "All of this...this is just wonderful. Here I thought the King of the Goblins just sat on his throne bullying goblins all day."

She laughed a little, then stopped abruptly as if realising the jest might not take well.

"There are a great many things you don't know," said Jareth. That one comment of hers alone made him glad he'd chosen to bring her here. She was realising little by little that he was not who she assumed. Did she realise what was most important though? He'd do anything for her. If only she would just let him.

Sarah gazed at him a long time. She finally turned away to inspect the room further, but that thoughtful spark glinted in her gaze as she wandered deep in thought.

"My bringing you here was for a purpose," he said after a while letting her think. "It was closed off to you and others for a time, but now you may come here whenever you wish."

"Really?"

The way her face brightened when she was excited never failed to send shafts of light into the dark places of his heart. He was shadow: she was light. How could he ever hold such a creature?

"Yes. But! No one else is permitted which includes your...friends."

She nodded. "Are you sure? This seems...sort of sacred. I feel like I'm intruding on something important."

"Sarah, my dear, you are never an intrusion." His slow smirk had its desired effect as she looked away with faintly coloured cheeks. "Read the books, study the charts, or write to your heart's content. I know you've been somewhat bored, so this ought to help keep you busy."

_And I desired to share this special place with you_, he said only in his thoughts.

"So this is where you lock yourself away where no one can find you," she said as she perused the books on the shelves. "I didn't realise you had such an interesting hobby."

"Hobby?" he said with distaste. "A terrible choice of word. The stars and the heavens are a study of mine to which I've dedicated much of my life—which is long indeed."

He swirled a few crystals around in his hand as was habit. The smooth surfaces, the glinting reflection, the feel of his magic; all familiar and comforting.

"How long...Oh never mind."

His sharp canines showed as he grinned. "You would ask how long those years have been?"

"Oh no, I won't. I don't think that would be a good idea."

"And why ever not? Don't you want to know how _old_ I am?"

"Well...yes, but...it's not appropriate. You don't need to answer that. In fact, you shouldn't."

He began moving about the room in slow pacing that wound its way closer to her without first appearing that way. "Afraid, Sarah? Afraid of some answers you might find?"

She refused to look at him and fiddled with a black feather quill she'd picked up from the table. It twirled in her hand like the crystals did in his. "Maybe. It doesn't matter how old you are because you're immortal. Mary said you were one of the Fey."

"Did she?"

"It's true, isn't it?"

He merely nodded.

"So you're going to live forever," Sarah said in a soft voice.

_Ah, so that is what she's thinking of_, he thought. _Why would an immortal take interest in a mortal who couldn't possibly live as long? Foolish girl, always dredging up obstacles that don't matter._

"My kind can be killed," he said out loud, yet that was all he would say because explaining would lead to another topic he longed to avoid a while yet. She couldn't know about the condition of their hearts.

"Fiachna," she said with a heated voice. The quill stopped in her hand. "Does he want to kill you?"

"That isn't his main goal but he would not bear any guilt or regret if he did. More than that, he wishes to inflict pain and suffering while I still live so it lingers with me."

She winced. "What did you do to him?"

"Ha! You assume it's my fault."

"Well, if he hates you so much, I assume it means you did something to him."

"Jealousy is a very powerful emotion, Sarah," he said. "But we will not speak of him."

"Why not? He's the pink elephant in the room that everyone wants to avoid!"

What? That phrase was definitely unfamiliar to him, and he quirked a brow at her in question. What had pink elephants to do with anything?

She smiled—a lovely sight to his starving eyes—and leaned against the edge of the large table. "Sorry, an expression from my world apparently. I mean that he's a topic you're avoiding and almost pretending isn't a threat."

"So you assume," he said as the crystals slowed in his hand and lifted up into the air till there was only one. "I have not been idle and that is all you need to know."

Sarah's eyes followed the two floating crystals, and she hastily backed away. Jareth laughed at her nervousness and waved his hand in the air. They disappeared with a slight burst of light.

"Don't worry, I won't be trying to entice you in anymore dreams," he said. He moved to the other side of the table opposite where she stood and spread his palms on the cool surface. His eyes danced. "Were I to try that route again, it certainly wouldn't be in a dream."

The shock registered over every inch of her rigid frame and gaping green eyes.

A loud pound on the door below echoed up the stairs into the Chamber of the Stars. Jareth cursed the creature who dared disturb them as he whirled around and transported himself instantly to the bottom where he flung open the door.

Hoggle stood there trembling in his boots and tugging at his cap. Jareth almost loosed an angry tirade on the miserable dwarf when he noticed an elegant letter in Hoggle's hand. Rarely did he ever receive messages or parcels of any kind here in the Goblin Kingdom.

"What is it?" he demanded.

Hoggle jutted out his hand to offer the letter. "Your Majesty, I was at the gates gettin' rid of them fairies when a bird flew right in and dropped out of the sky. It gave this to me and waited till I went off to come to the castle. Must be important."

"Well of course it is, Hegwort."

"Hoggle."

Jareth speculated what the contents were and had fairly solid suspicions, particularly when he saw the golden seal, before he even read it. He broke the seal and unfolded the message. Inside was a thin parchment decorated with elegant script, a sheen of glitter, and framed with intricate designs of gold and silver.

It was exactly as he suspected.

Sarah had followed him the normal way each step at a time down the stairs all the way to the bottom and sounded a little out of breath when she asked what it was.

"I have received an invitation to the Midsummer's Eve celebration of the Sidhe Court."

* * *

><p><strong>NOTE:<strong> Oo...a fancy celebration in the future? Hm, perhaps ;)

Please do review and let me know what you think so far! Like I said, I'll love you forever...and ever...Buuut even if you don't drop me a message, I still appreciate you reading my story!


	14. Your Eyes Can Be So Cruel

**A/N: **Aaagh! I didn't mean to take so stinking long to update but life has a way of keeping us busy sometimes. First our internet wouldn't work for a few days, then I went on a trip, and then I got re-swamped with wedding photography and more weddings! Whew. Wedding photography is crazy busy. I'd only recommend it to those who really love taking photos...a lot...Haha.

Ok, well just go read the chapter ;). I know you're dying to since I left you all on a bit of a cliffhanger...and there's a bit of a surprise in this one.

P.S. After this, I'm going to start putting any Author Notes at the end of the chapter because you guys would probably rather just get right to it and then hear me talk, haha (unless it needs an important pre-note).

**ME a guest**: Thank you so much for leaving such a wonderful review! I'm so glad you're enjoying the story and so encouraged by such great compliments about my writing style, story progression, and characters. I really wanted this story to be just right, so I'm so happy to hear it. You're awesome. Just thought I'd let you know...:)

Many huge thanks to my lovely reviewers: **TheWordMasterOfFiction, Kaytori, ME a guest, The Queen of Water, Dreamingcharlie, She with the hazel eyes, , nortega, Elisabeth Sinclaire, lauren. ,** and** ButterflyOnTheWall**. You guys are so amazing!

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><p><strong>Chapter Thirteen: Your Eyes Can Be So Cruel<strong>

**...**

**...**

"The Sidhe Court?" said Sarah. She'd heard some of the legends about the Fey but not enough to really have a grasp on their way of life or customs. "And a Midsummer's Eve festival. Wow. It sounds amazing."

The Goblin King sent her a wry look. "I'm sure it does." He handed the elegant invite back to Hoggle who still stood there waiting to see if he was wanted or not. "Take this to my study and leave it there."

"Yes, your Majesty."

"Hoggle?" Sarah called.

"Yes Sarah?" The dwarf hesitated trying to decide if he could get away with delaying when Sarah was present.

"Will you be staying around today?"

"Uh...yes?" He sent a nervous glance towards his king and received the slightest nod in return. "I sure will. Bye Sarah."

Then he scurried off to do what he was told.

"When is this celebration?" asked Sarah.

"In a fortnight."

From the indifferent expression on the king's face and his casual posture, clearly the invitation was of no interest to him. Maybe he'd attended so many over the years that they didn't matter anymore; but she could imagine it to be the event of a lifetime, to be at a celebration straight out of myth and legend full of immortal, magical beings. It was her one opportunity.

"Sarah, you should know I never attend these foolish occasions."

Her hopes crashed down around her in pieces. "But...why? Isn't it a beautiful place to be?"

"Perhaps, perhaps not." He clasped his hands behind his back and avoided her eyes. "It's been a very, very long time since I mingled with all of them or came to any of their events. They are a waste of my time, and I don't plan to start changing that now."

Sarah pulled at her bottom lip with her teeth and tried to find some argument that might win him over. He didn't want to go, but she certainly did and didn't plan on giving up on this one chance.

"You wouldn't go even if I wanted to?" she asked softly.

His eyes still wouldn't regard her. His back stiffened.

"Jareth, please. It'll be so beautiful, and I'll only get this one time to go to something as special as this. You know what? I'll even make you a deal. Because I've already asked so much of you, if you let me go to this, you have my promise that I'll owe you a favour. Anything you ask. It'll make us even. Although, I guess if my kind aren't allowed, that would make sense, but if they are..."

She trailed off in hopes he would have some sort of soft spot down deep where she could reach. Then she really looked at him and almost gasped loudly, instead choosing to press her lips firmly together. The way he was staring at her was intoxicating. How could she even explain? It was as though his eyes were trying to take her in until she was a part of him, their ancient depths brimming with intensity and indefinable emotion that felt like a fire threatening to sweep over her or deep waters threatening to drown her.

And then it was gone.

* * *

><p>His name. Sarah had finally used his name rather than his title. The only other instance was when she screamed it out in fear of her life, but now it slipped from her rosy lips gentle and true. Warm satisfaction settled in his chest.<p>

Another step forward. And yet her request was not a simple one for there were a great many risks attached. Just the use of his name was enough to put him under her whim and will and give what she asked, but she had to know the dangers.

"You would desire to go even though it puts you at great risk?" he said with a voice rich and tense. "This gives Fiachna a perfect opportunity to get to you while we'd be away from my kingdom where he can't come. He _can_ come into other realms, especially this one where he'd be as welcome as any other Sidhe to celebrate the Summer Solstice. There's more than one reason I'd rather you didn't attend such an event."

"But with you I'd be safe."

The girl was either very cunning or very naïve. Perhaps a little of both because her simple use of words was swaying him who was often likened to rock that cannot be moved. He wasn't known for being gentle or kind, but this one woman had the ability to stir up things within him he thought dead or non-existent. For her he would do anything.

"It flatters me that you believe in my ability to overcome any other force here, but you must know, Sarah, that I'm not invincible. I may be immortal, but as I said, our race can be killed. Do not forget it."

It was a painful reminder but necessary for the both of them.

She was fingering the skirts of her dress. As if she wasn't already a beauty enough to enliven a cold heart in his breast, but she had begun wearing the gowns more often. They suited her well, so well that he didn't want her to put on those strange pants from her world ever again. This one was a soft coral shade that complimented her creamy skin and shadowy hair rather wonderfully. It also displayed her fine figure with taste.

Some of the Fey maidens were infamous for showing a great deal of skin to exhibit their 'qualities' to others, but that had never interested Jareth. He admired women of modesty who knew the art of subtlety and beauty rather than wantonness or blatant seduction. At occasions like the Midsummer's Eve celebration the variety of personalities was vibrant and obvious. What would Sarah look like in their midst? She was mortal, yes, but he knew she wouldn't stand out as much as one might assume because of the difference.

"I'm sorry," she said softly. "If it really is that dangerous, then I guess we shouldn't go. I realise it's selfish of me to ask to put you at risk because of me."

He drew in a deep breath and released it with a heavy sigh. Sarah waited in suspense for his final response. Those eyes. Those glittering pools of green would be the death of him how they pulled at his will till he knelt before her in spirit and would bend for her desires. Such cruel eyes.

The more he considered it, the more he strangely discovered he wanted to take her. He could sense it was a strong desire of hers as well. How would all the high Sidhe react to bringing a human amongst them? It had been done before in the past more than a few times, and yet it would cause a raucous particularly for the King of the Goblins to have a mortal girl on his arm when so little was known of him anymore. He remained secluded and secretive. To arrive with Sarah would certainly give that lot a hundred years' gossip to discuss.

That thought quirked his lips into a small smile. Not to mention, she'd promised a favour in return. Now that was a pleasant thought indeed.

"It's a deal. Sarah, in a fortnight you and I shall attend the Sidhe Court's Midsummer's Eve gala at the Adamant Palace."

* * *

><p>Excitement rippled through her in bursting waves, and she almost leaped forward to catch him in an embrace. Sarah barely stopped herself and grasped his gloved hand instead.<p>

"Thank you! Thank you so much! I know it will be dangerous, but I think it'll be worth it."

A slow grin spread over his face.

She laughed and hurried away to go find Hoggle or Mary to share the wonderful news. As she half-ran half-walked back into the winding halls and stairways of the castle, she wriggled her hand around. Strange. It tingled a little.

* * *

><p>"Master, how do you know they'll go?"<p>

"Gerdol, do you question me?"

"No! No, Your Majesty. Of course not. I just am too dim-witted to understand this plan."

Fiachna nodded as he poured over notes written on yellowed parchment. He hadn't left his Black Tower since he returned to the Underground after a failure to catch that mortal girl, but he had sent his spies to keep an eye on the Goblin Kingdom to report anything of note or activity of any kind. So far, nothing. The ravens watched night and day, but Jareth was no fool. He knew his enemy would not leave them unguarded after that failed attack.

_If only that stupid girl hadn't called out for him! I wasn't planning any torment for her—she actually was rather pleasant—but for that stunt I'll need to devise a little something special. My plans would have worked if she hadn't gone and done such a foolish thing._

But he was beginning to wonder if this was even better for Jareth would have the human with him and fall prey to her charms yet again, only to have her ripped away a second time. Yes, this was turning out better than he'd hoped. The pain would be enough to rid their world of that infernal Goblin King forever for his heart would break at the loss.

"I'll likely have to take her life to do so," he muttered to himself.

Gerdol heard but didn't respond. He knew better than to speak without permission. There were scars from that lesson from years ago still laced across his back.

Fiachna straightened and looked at his shaggy-haired underling. The dwarf was quite ugly but fairly useful. Maybe the girl wouldn't need to be killed. She was very lovely and would be much better to look at than his ravens and his dwarf; however, she'd have to be broken somehow.

"Gerdol, I know they will go to this...festival...because of that human girl. She's a mortal. We are immortal legends of her world. If she hears of it, which is most likely, then she will long to go and Jareth being the weak man that he is will agree to her request. And that is why I know they'll be there."

"I see now, Master." Gerdol bowed his head.

"And that will bring them right into my trap," Fiachna said with delight edging his voice. His golden eyes gleamed brightly against the shadowed room. "I will wait to strike until after they arrive so they gain a false sense of security and let their guards down a little. They will be distracted also. Jareth has other acquaintances that will swarm him with questions and idle chatter, not to mention all of our curious race wanting to know who the mortal is and why she's come with the mysterious Goblin King. You see, it all will fall together rather well, I think." He began pacing the length of the room. "There is a small possibility that it will fail simply because of too many others around. That's the one flaw. But if I wait till they're travelling back home Jareth will be alert again, so it must be there at the Adamant Palace."

Gerdol nodded even though he probably wasn't listening well anymore.

"Now all we do is wait. There is still a fortnight before I can put it all into place."

Fiachna dismissed his dwarf abruptly and drew into his private study where he closed the door and drew curtains over the windows. The shadows drew in around him as he surrendered to their pull and practised his dark magic for long hours into the night, growing in power so that he could face the King of the Goblins and at last bring defeat. Then they would finally see who was the greater.

The cost of the pieces of his soul given to the Dark each time he surrendered to learn more of its power was something he blocked out of his mind. He focused only on the present, on the now of destroying his greatest enemy.

* * *

><p>"Mary! Mary, I've got wonderful news!"<p>

Sarah finally found the older woman munching on buttered bread while sitting in a window down on the lowest level of the castle.

"That mage finally give up on ya?"

"Uh, no."

"You get to go back home?"

"No, not that either. I mean, those would be fantastic too, but it's nothing like that."

"Well, then out with it! What news is so wonderful?" Mary tugged at her braid and tapped her foot on the ground.

"Jareth is taking me to see the Midsummer's Eve gala at Adamant Palace! He said the Sidhe Court was hosting, so I guess there will be a lot of lords and ladies and royalty of those lovely people. It's all real! I can't believe I get to see something like this."

The truth still took its time to settle into reality. In the stories of her world, balls were either exciting events highlighted by handsome men and extravagant gowns or stuffy occasions made dull by the people in attendance. She couldn't really imagine a festival like this one being at all dull since it was hosted by Fey who were known for their beauty, mischievousness, nobility, and adventures. If there were even a few like the Goblin King, it would prove to be a very intriguing evening.

_Wait, when did I start calling him Jareth? That's odd. Well, I was getting tired of the formalities and the mouthful it was to call him King of the Goblins all the time._

"Is he now?" Mary said quietly in her Irish brogue. She made a noncommittal noise. "You sure are deep in it now, lass. You sure you want to go? We humans don't get taken to such parties unless...You know, never mind that. I'm sure you'll enjoy yourself a great deal."

"Unless what?" Sarah prodded. Mary actually appeared to be slightly embarrassed. "Are you saying that they'll think I'm his...his mistress?"

Mary shrugged, then nodded.

"Oh no." Sarah lifted a hand to her brow and sighed. "Is there no way around that? I really wanted to go."

"There is a way around it, dearie. Don't give a goat's hoof what anyone else thinks and just have fun dancing and eating and whatever else they do. It should be fairly spectacular if what I know is right. All our tales in Ireland told of wondrous fair Midsummer Eves that the Sidhe would throw since it seems to be their biggest celebration of the year."

"Another adventure, more memories to treasure for the rest of my life," said Sarah with a wistful glaze to her eyes.

"Yes indeed," said Mary. Her expression was teasing although the young woman was too distracted to notice. "Maybe of a kind you don't expect."

* * *

><p>The following day Sarah wasted little time before hurrying to the Tower to peruse the books and all the fascinating objects and maps. Jareth had revealed a hidden room bursting with treasure just waiting to be discovered, and he'd given her free reign to come and go as she pleased.<p>

Was there any end to his gifts?

Today she wore a dress of pale grey with crystal beading sown in a v-shape over the fitted bodice. She partially expected dresses like these to be uncomfortable, but each one she'd worn was quite the opposite. She lifted the skirts as she scaled the Tower steps with an eagerness almost equal to the day before when she didn't know what it was.

The dark green door was slightly ajar. Puzzled, she gently pushed it the rest of the way and peered around it.

Her mouth dropped open. Her heart stuttered.

Jareth was slumped against the wall on the floor with his head tilted back against the cold stone, his eyes closed and his pale skin even whiter than before.

Panic ripped through her. The Goblin King had never looked so drawn and sallow. Every time he appeared he wore assurance and mischief about him like a cloak of regality, strong and imposing in his dark mantles with those penetrating eyes. His presence commanded attention. But there he lay as if fallen ill like lesser beings.

Sarah rushed to his side and placed her hands on his arm. He was only in his black breeches and white ruffled shirt that dipped low on his chest to reveal that peculiar medallion, so she could feel the chill of his skin through the thin fabric. It should have been warm. His chest rose and fell with breath, so he was obviously still alive, but clearly something was very wrong.

"Jareth," she said urgently. She shook his shoulder. "Jareth, please wake up. I'm not sure what's wrong, but if you wake up you could tell me."

The only response she got was him moving his head a little towards her and his lips pressing tighter together. The dark circles under his eyes stood out sharply against the pallid shade of his skin.

"Jareth, please open your eyes. I need you to tell me what's happened."

The soft, melodic tones of her pleading eventually encouraged him to open his eyes. They slowly pried open as if the effort was almost too much or as if he'd awakened from a deep slumber. Those piercing blue orbs latched onto her, and he reached out a limp hand to touch her shoulder.

"Sarah," he whispered. "I hoped you wouldn't come."

"What?" she said in alarm. "You look like you're dying and you're saying you didn't want me to come? What's wrong? You have to tell me so I can help you. Please let me help you."

"I didn't wish for you to see me like this."

Of course he would choose this moment to be a stubborn man. His appearance frightened her enough to not even care about who he was or anything else except helping him, but she couldn't do anything if he refused to divulge why on earth he was collapsed against the wall.

"I'll tell you," he continued in a faint voice, "when this has passed. For now I would like to just get off the floor if that's possible."

Even in the state he was in, Jareth still managed to maintain his wry humour. Sarah wondered if this wasn't such a rare occurrence or if nothing fazed him. She took in his tall, lean figure and decided she might be able to get him to one of the deep cushioned chairs about ten feet away.

"If you can move at all," she said, "I'm going to help you stand and walk over there. You think you can manage?"

"Of course."

She rolled her eyes and found herself hesitating. They were already so close that every detail of his mismatched eyes was vivid, but this would mean fitting herself to his side. It was only a second's pause. The Fay needed someone and here she'd been determined to give back to him in whatever way she could find. This was not a time to care about proximity.

Still bent over beside him, Sarah drew closer and slipped an arm around his waist. He was thin, though in a lean sort of way, and it felt the chill of his skin was gradually fading back to fleshly warmth. They both used the wall to stand up together, Sarah wobbling almost as much as him under the weight: she wasn't exactly very tall or physically strong. Fortunately Jareth didn't weigh a great deal, but he did lean heavily on her once they moved away from the wall as she used her body to support his unsteady legs. Strands of his soft golden hair tickled her cheek, and his unique scent of night wind, musk, and leather washed over her senses as the nearness registered in her pulse.

It frightened her to imagine what could do this to a powerful being like him. It sent a chill to her heart. Her first instinct was to think of the Raven Mage, but that didn't seem possible.

Just as she was feeling she might stumble beneath his weight, they were in reach of one of the chairs. He pulled away from her with care and collapsed into it.

"I must ask you to wait, Sarah," he said with a subtle hint of more strength in his voice. His eyes had closed again, and his body relaxed completely into the padded confines of the chair that luckily had a high enough back to support his head. "Wait until I am improved and able to speak at length."

He fell silent and rather still. She studied his placid features while he sat in front of her regaining his strength.

_Well, waiting it is then. Hopefully not too long. I want to know the reason for all this, for putting my heart through the crucible within seconds and making me question everything all over again just because of one thought: what if he'd died?_

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><p><strong>NOTE: <strong>Ooo...yep, I'm that author: the evil one who does cliffhangers. Hehehe...

Things are beginning to come together! In more ways than one. But what happened to Jareth? I promise it won't take me as long this time to update though. Yay for autumn and less crazy busyness! Plus it's just a beautiful time of year. Reviews are greatly wonderfully appreciated!


	15. You Starve and Near Exhaust Me

**Chapter Fourteen: You Starve and Near Exhaust Me**

**...**

**...**

With a book in hand, her legs curled up beneath her, and the crystal stars twinkling in the dome above, Sarah waited for the Goblin King to rouse from his weak spell. While she read the blue-leather bound book of Underground history—extremely fascinating accounts of a series of wars from two thousand years ago between different clans of Sidhe—her eyes occasionally strayed to the passed out figure a few feet away to check for any sign of improvement.

She got caught up in the wild tales for a while longer before checking again. She startled a little at the change that was so apparent.

Although he was normally extremely fair, the deathly pallor was gone. The dark circles under his eyes had faded, and he seemed to merely be sleeping. His breath came in less shallowly, the gold amulet glinting as his chest rose and fell with normal breathing.

His eyes were open. Sarah blinked and felt at a loss for words.

With only a subtle sluggishness, he stirred and sat up in the large chair to lean against its solid back. He glanced to the side then let his gaze fall back on Sarah.

"How are you feeling?" she asked.

"More natural," he answered after a brief pause. His voice alone sounded stronger.

"You're looking much better too." She forced a smile away at his indignant glare. "I won't apologise. You deserve it after leaving me scared witless for all this time wondering if you were dying or...or something terrible while I couldn't do a single thing."

_Oops. That sounded a little too endearing. Oh well, it is the truth_.

His expression looked pleased but still weary. "I did tell you I'd explain, didn't I?"

"Yes, you did. If you're well enough. I need to know _why._"

He ran a finger along his jaw line and looked away with distant eyes. It was a few minutes of silence before he spoke.

"My abilities—what humans call 'magic' but is a curious phrase to us—are not boundless. I cannot do anything or everything imaginable. It comes with a price. We all have different capacities, just as your kind have different capacities with your own abilities, but that still leaves a limit for each of us. My power is vast, but if I push the boundaries it draws strength and life from me just as you might be exhausted from running too long or lifting too much weight."

"So you were exhausted from too much use of your magic—uh, your abilities?"

He nodded.

"And what on earth had you using so much?"

He did not answer.

"If I'd known that all these things you've done for me were taking energy out of you like this, I'd have told you to stop," she said in a firm but gentle tone. "I appreciate all you've done for me, but you can't—"

"Sarah, stop," he said with a raised hand. "This was not from doing you favours, I assure you. That takes a small toll that I barely feel. This was so much more."

"Are you going to tell me what?"

He regarded her quietly and intently. Although she'd had more than one childish moment after returning here, she hoped he saw her as an adult now that could be trusted with important information.

"Sarah, these are things my kind do not tell to mortals and for very good reason. To share our strengths or weaknesses is to expose ourselves and the rest of our kindred to a certain degree which is dangerous. You used powerful words to defeat me last time, so how can I trust you with information just as powerful a second time?"

Sarah drew in a deep breath. He was right. They both had equal footing when it came to reasons not to trust each other.

"This time I don't have any reason to want to defeat you," she said. "I don't want that. And you don't have to tell me everything, just enough to understand. Fiachna knows of it since he's like you, so wouldn't it be a good idea for me to know more since he's the enemy? I need to know his weaknesses too. Just in case."

Jareth drew himself up straighter in the chair, making it look a throne, and steepled his gloved fingers while his elbows rested on the armrests. "Only you Sarah," he murmured with his gaze still distant. "My power is strongest here in my own kingdom. Fiachna does not have a permanent home—at least not that I know of—so it's different for him, but it may make him weaker. These days it's uncertain. I do know that he has warded me from seeing him in my crystals, or even seeing where he now resides. It is very strong, but I tried to overcome it anyway just to get a glimpse of where he might be."

He stopped, leaving Sarah hanging on a thread.

"And?" she prodded.

"Just a bare hint of an image appeared, but I'm not sure it was worth the cost."

"I'm not sure either. You seemed almost near death when I found you. It scared me."

Jareth gave her another indiscernible look that gave her a tingly sensation. "You would grieve my death?"

"I..." Oh, such a terrible question to ask her. "I don't want you to die, no. I just didn't know what had happened or if I should be afraid or if the mage somehow got to you. Is he really that much stronger than you?"

That made him bristle of course. His voice sharpened. "No, he certainly is not. There are just particular things once done that are difficult even for the strongest of the Fey to undo. If I were closer to him, it wouldn't have exhausted my strength so drastically. We may be strongest at certain places, but it takes greater effort the longer we stretch our power over distance."

Sarah's mind began to work. If Fiachna was similar to Jareth, his power would be less the further he was from whatever residence he possessed. "So would your plan include luring Fiachna away from his home? So he's not as strong?"

"Perhaps. We will see won't we? I'm just making the necessary precautions for our little excursion. I would rather I knew where he was when we make that journey. It is likely, though, that he will show up himself at the gala."

That thought dampened her excitement about the grand event, to imagine that dark figure tainting the light and beauty of the fair kings and queens of the Sidhe. And keeping a watch on her and Jareth. She shivered.

They fell into a comfortable silence for a long while. The wind made soft whispers at the windows and rustled the maps on the table. Sarah closed the book still in her grasp and set it aside. Jareth seemed to still feel weak, and in some way it made him a little more open than usual. Or so it seemed.

"What should I expect at a place like this? I mean, I don't imagine a lot of humans get to go," she said.

His head snapped up. His right hand moved, but no crystal appeared in his palm. He glanced down and scowled at where one should be. "No, they don't. I will teach you proper Sidhe Court etiquette, don't worry about that. I won't show up after a few hundred years with someone who will accidentally insult all of the prickly royalty. They are finical about traditions and conduct and all of that."

That eased some of her worries, but there was one more she was loathe to bring up to a man.

As if he could sense her thoughts, the barest of smirks turned his lips, and he gestured with his fingers. "And don't worry about what to wear, my dear," he said in a low tone, "for I will only arrive with my guest dressed finer and lovelier than all the Fey maidens there."

A familiar heat in her cheeks rose. Sarah's first instinct was to flee and get out of the room that suddenly felt so much smaller, but then her resolve hardened. She lifted her chin and stood from her chair as if to leave.

"Well," she said in an imperial voice, "then my escort had better make sure he's fit to be seen with me."

And she waltzed out of the room with a spring in her step and a gleam in her eye, leaving behind a rather bemused and intrigued king in her wake.

* * *

><p>"No!"<p>

"Oh, come now, it's not that bad—"

"No, I don't think it's a good idea."

"Dearie, just hold still and let me—"

"Mary, you know I think really well of you and everything, but this...no."

Mary heaved a sigh and dropped her arms to her side. Sarah was backed into a corner with her hands held up in defence, eyes wide, and jaw set in determination. If Mary had been watching as a third party, she'd probably have had a fit of laughter at the scene.

In her hands she held pins and needles and measuring tape. Since she'd lived here in the castle as a servant and the Goblin City didn't exactly sell garments worth buying for any other being, she'd learned to sew her own clothes over the years.

But for some reason, Sarah didn't trust her to do some simple measuring.

"It's not like I'm intending to stick you like a pig," Mary said with a huff. "If you'd stop runnin' away..."

"I'm not running away! I just...think there's a better way to get the right dress."

"Oh," said Mary, "so you think Jareth will get you one? Or make one for you?" The girl really was blind to the fact that she and the Goblin King were not meant to be friends. It must either be everything or nothing, but Sarah was trying to find some balance in the middle. Mary wished to tell her bluntly that the king's heart was as much on the line as hers. "He may be sweeping you away to some romantic ball, but remember, Cinderella had her fairy godmother."

"Fairy godmother? Fairies bite! Don't you know this? That's not helping!"

They had another sort of stand-off staring at each other with mock glares, Mary's hands on her hips and Sarah's still held up. The girl was clad only in a thin white shift which somewhat ruined the fierce front she tried to uphold.

Sarah began to laugh. It was faint at first but soon bubbled up into a full-throated sound. Mary loved the sound of real laughter of joy from human lungs, realising how much it was missed simply by hearing the music coming from the lovely slip of a thing trapped in the corner of her room. The girl continued to laugh until she bent over from the effort.

Mary couldn't help it. The laughter was contagious. Soon it was both of them together filling the bedroom with the delightful sound.

Of course it was in that moment that her liege decided to make his presence known. Mary was wiping tears from the corner of her eyes when she spotted him standing by the door. Her laughter died down, and she stiffened. That man was still as mysterious and beguiling as ever, but she had a healthy fear of his authority.

"Your Majesty," she said with a curtsy, hoping Sarah would notice.

Sure enough, Sarah took one look at him and crossed her arms over her chest. She looked extremely uncomfortable.

"Get out!" she said with a scowl. "That's why people knock on doors, to make sure they don't come in when it's not appropriate." Her skin was quite flushed, although the shift was more than decent. It was amusing to see someone not bowing and scraping in fear of him though. This girl was certainly spirited and not afraid to state her opinion.

Mary sighed and added, "Your Majesty, might I suggest waiting a few more moments until the girl is properly dressed?"

Instead of doing what they asked or showing any shame at all, he smirked at them and took a few steps forward. "There is a robe right there on the bed that will suffice, I'm sure."

Sarah continued to glare at him, but she did snatch up the robe and throw it on in a flurry. Once it was tied, she faced him indignantly but didn't say a word. He kept that impudent expression on his face—one that Mary knew all too well—and pressed further in till he was in their midst.

"She won't be properly dressed at this rate, Mary," he said. "She is right though. There is no need for you to make her a gown yourself."

"Yes, your Majesty."

Sarah gave her an odd look, and Mary realised the girl never saw her interact with Jareth before. No matter what, he was still king and she'd learned quickly that respect was always required. Not to mention, she didn't mind. She'd rather serve him than some of the other Sidhe she'd heard rumours about. Here she was mostly ignored, but that was better than being noticed and treated like a worthless being as some mortals were to a handful of the Fey. Not most, just a few who were now infamous.

And then she stood watching a riveting scene unfold before her. She'd seen them in brief snatches together, but this topped it all. This time was different.

"Do you keep trying to pop into my _room_ at the wrong times?" Sarah demanded, completely bypassing the topic of the dress.

Jareth still had his playful air about him. He took another step closer. "It depends on your definition of 'wrong.'"

Sarah still had her arms crossed and a displeased expression with a creased brow and pursed lips. She was all tenseness and the king all relaxed, two opposite sides in appearance yet not so very opposite in character. They were not standing far from each other now. Mary had backed away a little, unnoticed and unobserved as the pair drifted into a world of their own.

"Oh! You're trying to rile me up."

"And it seems to be working."

"And you seem to not understand common courtesy. Can't you just get out of my room and wait till I'm ready?" Sarah said with a frustrated sigh. Her temper was receding.

His grin was as infuriating and handsome as Mary remembered it to be, although he had never looked at her like that. "I've seen what other women in your world wear, Sarah, so I'm surprised you're so chagrined."

"So you think I'm like all the 'other women' that dress in so little?"

A tense quiet filled the air that was already taught with something else. Mary's brown eyes darted between them. Jareth's mischief dissipated a little, and he drew forward yet again.

"Of course not," he said in lower tones. "You've always been different. Set apart from the others. It is something rare and...captivating."

Mary became very uncomfortable since she immediately felt like she was intruding on something private. Those two! The air practically crackled around them with an unseen force that had her holding her breath in anticipation for the moment it finally ignited.

"I came to spare you from becoming a pincushion," he said at last to shatter the tension, "and to tell you your attire for the festivity is already taken care of."

"Taken care of how?"

"In the dream I sent to you when you were in the labyrinth, you had a silver-white gown. Do you remember?"

"Of course," Sarah said quite breathily as if the memory of that dream took her very breath away. Mary had heard the tale finally, but the peach dream was vaguely mentioned. "Did you imagine that for me?"

"No, I didn't."

Jareth closed the rest of the little distance there was and tapped a lingering finger to her brow. Sarah stared up at him with an expression Mary couldn't decipher, but it was sort of...dreamy...or bewildered.

"It was from here in your own imagination just as your new gown will be as well," he said in a near-whisper, his eyes never straying from her face like a thirsty man drinking his fill. "I'm not able to right now, as you can guess, but tomorrow you'll have it."

Another space of time held captive by their interaction passed with Mary holding her breath again. Jareth's finger trailed off of Sarah's pale brow, and he forced himself back. Sarah seemed to return to the waking world with a shudder and thanked him quietly before making some vague excuse about something she had to do. She hurried towards the armoire and began fumbling around looking through the clothes. Jareth spared only a breath before he himself left the room.

As soon as the door closed, Mary released her breath at last and fanned her face. It certainly felt a lot warmer in there than before. Strange. She tossed her pins and measuring tape aside and focused on the girl.

"I've never seen anything like it!" she exclaimed. "I almost left to give you two some privacy! My, my, that was quite a spectacle. Could hardly breathe with all those things in the air around you two!"

Sarah gave her a mortified glance. "Mary! Please don't. I don't want to talk about it."

"Of course you don't because you don't understand it. Well I do. That man would do anything for you if he hasn't already."

"I said I don't want to talk about it. Just...not right now."

"But when, dearie?" Mary said in a gentler voice. She hadn't been around much decent company most her life, but she knew when issues were wrapped too tight around your heart that you had to loose them with words or feel their strangling grip.

"Maybe...maybe after Midsummer's Eve. You're dismissed for now, Mary. I'm going to get dressed and go for a long walk."

Mary sighed and nodded. She just hoped a decision didn't take too long. She wished for Sarah's happiness, of course, but she had a sort of fondness for Jareth as well, and she knew the conditions of his kind: if Sarah continued this way then rejected him a second time, he could very well pass on from the living.

Another thought slid into her mind that made her frown: Jareth had been master of mischief and music, but ever since Sarah's abrupt first departure, she hadn't heard one note of music from his lips.

An indignant cry filled the room just before the door closed behind her.

"Wait a minute! How did he know all that? That little sneak! He's been spying!"

* * *

><p>Jareth had regained all of his former strength, Mary hadn't brought up the relationship between him and Sarah, and Sarah had received instruction from him of etiquette for the Sidhe Court. Mostly she learned how to properly greet and treat the royalty and nobility they would encounter. Beyond that, there wasn't much else he could prepare her for, but he did give her a warning to not drink too freely of the golden mead or wander away from him.<p>

As he'd promised, her gown was fashioned from both his magic and her imagination. He had come to her when he was fully recovered, conjured a crystal, and given it to her. She'd been hesitant to touch it, but eventually she let it rest in her hand, the cool smooth surface oddly comforting. The magic within tingled pleasantly on her skin. He left her alone, telling her to simply close her eyes and picture what she wanted and then to turn the crystal 'this way' so it would transform her attire into the dreamed gown.

And it worked better than she had imagined. The extravagant dress was closed away where no one else could see it until the right day.

And that day had arrived at last. Midsummer's Eve: the night Jareth the Goblin King would whisk her away to a magical night of dancing and feasting with the Sidhe royalty themselves.

* * *

><p><strong>AN**: So what did you guys think? Hopefully the reasoning for Jareth's sudden weakening made sense and wasn't disappointing. Also, some of you may wonder why Sarah's still so hesitant or acting the way she does. If you put yourself in her shoes, it makes more sense. She's afraid of liking or loving Jareth because that means leaving her world behind for good, including all the family and friends she cares about.

Anywho, hope you guys enjoyed! The evening you've all been waiting for arrives next chapter ;). Please do review my lovely readers! I'd love to reach a 100 reviews soon :)

**Melissa72:** You are most welcome. It's my honour to do so :). There's so few stories that do anymore...I'm glad you like Jareth! I do too ;). Thank you so much for your kind and encouraging words! God bless you as well!

Many warm thanks to: **The Queen Of Water, LightShadowSeeker, Katori, DaniellaPeirce, , TheWordMasterOfFiction, gothicrocker2, ButterflyOnTheWall, Senshi at Heart, Dreamingcharlie, Elisabeth S,** and** Melissa 72**. You guys are so amazing!


	16. A Land Serene, a Crystal Moon

**A/N: **Okay, so writing notes at the end rather than the beginning was a fail...I found I'd just rather do it before. Yep.

Midsummer's Eve gala! Hope you're all looking forward to it! So it turned out to be a bit of a monster and will be spread over at least 3 chapters, possibly 4; but I'm sure you're all okay with that considering all that will take place ;). I will absolutely try to update sooner since it's one whole evening split up. The story really picks up from here on out, in more ways than one...But it's looking to be from 26-28 chapters total, so this isn't the finale my friends!

**Courty:** I feel like Christmas when you tell me these chapters are like gifts...Haha :D. As much as I like Sarah's friends, I just have a hard time writing them or finding a place for them in the story :/. They will show up again, of course, but it's just not working out for this particular plot-line. Glad you understand though! Thanks so much!

**ME a guest**: Oh good. I'm glad it was :)

Thanks to: **The Queen of Water, Kaytori, ButterflyOnTheWall, , Senshi at Heart, ME a guest, Courty, DaniellaPeirce, DawnRain, tundraeclipse, Invoguewetrust, CompleteBookworm2, Koren Flashblade**, and all the other **Guests** and **Anonymous!**

Enjoy the Sidhe celebration!

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter Fifteen: A Land Serene, A Crystal Moon<strong>

**...**

**...**

It was Midsummer's Eve, and in some places of the Underground there were already creatures who began celebrating. But at the Adamant Palace by the Sylvan Forest and Effervescent Lake, preparations had begun weeks before to make ready for the extravagant celebration composed of the finest guests in all the lands. Only the best would be offered, and only the best would attend. It was the most magnificent event of the entire year.

And Jareth, King of the Goblins, was dreading it.

There were good reasons he hadn't mingled amidst others of his race for so long. It wasn't just Fiachna's rages that drove him away, but also the general behaviour of so many other Tuatha De Danaan. They pried into his business, they always desired to know the details of his life, and they attempted to manipulate him as they did each other. There were some he didn't mind, of course, and a small few he was almost fond of, but most were not worth troubling over at all. He had no genuine friends among them. True, it was partially his own doing since he secluded himself when he was still young to so many, but he did not regret it.

Nonetheless, they could throw spectacular parties that none could rival in splendour because the Fey were a fair and noble race.

Many of the guests would travel by carriage, winged creatures, or some other transportation starting days earlier, but he and Sarah could not risk an open journey of that kind, not with the Raven Mage bent on revenge and destruction. Although it would take a good deal of power, he would simply spirit them away straight to their destination.

Speaking of the beguiling woman. He waited for her to appear. Evening was fast approaching, and they had need to depart soon. But there was an unfamiliar discomfort twinging and sparking along his veins that he eventually recognised as anxiousness. He didn't understand why he had the odd feeling after all this time.

Immediately, he realised why.

Footsteps rang on the stairs leading down into the throne room where he stood waiting. Sarah finally had arrived, and when she moved into the light, those unfamiliar nerves elevated. Or perhaps it wasn't nerves but a thrill of anticipation and of astonishment to behold such a lovely creature standing before him.

She truly was breathtaking, for he certainly couldn't breathe for a moment.

Her rich, dark hair was reminiscent of the style in the masquerade dream yet with more curls and glittering golden flowers nestled within. The dress was stunning. It was smooth satin beneath with a diaphanous layer above. Its deep green hues hugged her curved but slender figure to the waist where it flared out in true ball gown form with draping folds of which some faded into a faintly lighter shade towards the hem from the deeper green. Leafy vines glittered gold around the bodice and trailed down along the skirts that flowed out behind. It fit off of her shoulders, the sheer sleeves aligned with the neckline draping down her arms. The shade of green highlighted her eyes so that they were like glistening emeralds, and the golden flowers made it seem there were specks of gold in their green depths.

Jareth drew breath. No other woman would compare to Sarah Williams tonight. To him, she was the most beautiful thing he'd ever beheld in all the worlds.

* * *

><p>Sarah took one last glance in the mirror and steeled herself to leave the safety of her bedroom. The deep green and gold dress swished around her feet and rustled along the floor while trailing behind her as she made her way to the throne room to meet with the Goblin King.<p>

As she readied for the event, a particular dilemma niggled at the back of her mind. Her friends, the goblins, Mary: they weren't going. That left her and Jareth alone. She laughed a little when it reminded her of the high school proms when all the girls would panic about finding a date or if they could go as friends with a guy without causing problems. It was a similar quandary Sarah found herself in.

What would attending a grand occasion like this together mean? Mary hinted that others would assume she was his mortal lover, but what would _he_ think? What did she herself think? She'd hoped it could be an innocent adventure with no strings attached, yet now she wasn't sure if that was possible. Or if she wanted it to be. That thought scared her the most.

And so she glided down the stairs to the throne room entrance. Her hands trembled as she stepped out into the open archway.

There he stood in all his enigmatic glory. He was dressed all in cream and silvery-grey so much as when he'd faced her at the last confrontation for Toby: tight breeches, high polished boots, sleek shirt, and a silver coat that glittered in the light. His blonde hair was in its customary long, tapered style, and of course the amulet still hung on his chest. She marked in her mind to ask him about it someday.

He looked devastatingly handsome. It was hard not to stare. All of that appeal and confidence and mystifying quality was enough to make any woman swoon, like being drawn inexplicably to something beautiful and dangerous wondering if it will hurt you or become even more glorious.

The king proffered up a hand quietly to her. She moved out of the archway with gliding steps and gently set her hand on his after a short hesitation.

"Sarah, I do believe the stars and the moon will look down and be jealous of you this evening because they shall feel drab within the light of your beauty." He gave a slight bend over her hand.

Coming from someone else it easily could have sounded absurd or rehearsed, yet from him it sounded completely sincere as if he were simply stating a profound fact. It made her blush and smile. He didn't exactly dole out compliments like Chris had done with her, always trying to flatter or assure her of something. Jareth said it and it was truth.

"Thank you," she said. Did she sound a little out of breath? No matter. "You took what I said about being fit to be seen with me pretty seriously."

The corner of his mouth turned up a little. He seemed to catch that that was her way of admitting his appearance pleased her. With a motion of his head, he kept her hand on his to lead her down into the main hall then outside before the grand doors of the castle that were too big for one person to open.

At last she noticed they were not alone anymore. Although the throne room had been kept empty, the main hall and all around outside goblins were scattered about trying to appear busy or useful even though most of them just stared. She looked but didn't see any of her friends, yet Mary was standing out on the steps watching with a small smile and a twinkle in her eye. Sarah shared a smile in return with the old woman, but neither spoke as Jareth led her into an open space.

He offered his other hand. "Sarah, we can't chance a long journey and so we must travel my way."

"You mean...how you just appear out of thin air wherever you want?"

"Yes, I suppose so. Take my other hand."

She did. Even through the pale gloves the warmth of his hands was evident on her skin.

"Close your eyes."

She closed her eyes and felt something happen. It was like moving without her body actually shifting even an inch. It only lasted a few seconds, so she opened her eyes again to find him watching her.

She looked beyond him, and her mouth dropped open.

In the distance was a palace on the edge of a large deep-blue lake, thin pillars of silver upholding its high roof and its walls of white smooth stone. And yet as large as it was, everything about its structure was delicate and elegant with its curved arches and rounded windows. Vines with white flowers entwined about the columns, and a large portion of the palace looked open to the outside. Ancient trees stood around it as well, some even with branches laden with leaves reaching through windows or open archways. The entrance was wide and curved with two silver pillars on either side like sentinels, and the flowering vines draped around the doorway that had no actual doors. Lanterns that looked like lilies were lit all along the path and in the palace with gold and silver light.

The land around was vibrant and fertile. Lawns of thick emerald grass lay around the palace, white and silver flowers dotted the sides of the path, and a great forest surrounded most of the lake and edged along one side of the building. They had arrived just at sunset when the festivities were set to begin, and so the light of the sun painted the still lake waters deep orange and gold atop the sapphire blue.

"We haven't even gone inside yet," Jareth jested.

"Who needs to when you have _this_," she said. "It's more beautiful than anything I've ever seen."

"I've seen things more lovely," he said in a quiet voice as he turned away and led her along the path.

As her awe settled down to something more manageable, moving figures appeared within the palace and some were on the same broad path leading to the entrance that she and Jareth were, but no one was quite close enough to distinguish much else.

They walked forward as Sarah's eyes drank in every detail. They drew closer and were able to glimpse some of the stately figures. Sarah stared with awe at a pair of male Sidhe talking while they stood waiting to make their entrance into the palace. The one had sharp features so smooth and clear with shockingly black hair while the other had a very prominent jaw and bright blue eyes. They disappeared inside at the call of a herald announcing their arrival.

No one was in front of them or very close behind when they stepped up to the wide arch with vines dangling down. "Uh, Jareth, they're not really going to announce us to everyone in there, right?"

"Well of course they are. Having second thoughts?"

"No," she said firmly.

He offered his arm, and she gladly put hers in his as her stomach swirled with butterflies. Her heart beat in time with their fluttering wings. But the strength and warmth of his arm holding hers was enough to keep her grounded, and there was that scent of starlight again, hovering about him like a fragrant wind.

The herald was another Fay with immaculate yellow attire laced with gold thread. He turned to look at them, and his face twisted with amazement. It took him a minute to regain composure and face the grand hall and cry with a booming voice: "Jareth son of Taylen, King of the Goblins and the Goblin Kingdom!"

To Sarah's horror, the entire crowd of revellers—which looked to be many hundreds—stopped talking, laughing, or dancing to stare at the entrance. A murmur rippled through the waves of Fey, whispers racing from mouth to ear as one of their own who'd disappeared long into his kingdom reappeared without warning at such a public event. And with a mortal girl on his arm, no less!

Sarah remembered to breathe and clung a little desperately to Jareth's arm. Here she was terrified of all the blatant attention, and he was coolly regarding the onlookers with casual nonchalance. Not a speck in him seemed nervous.

_Well, if he can be calm and confident, then so can I, _she determined in her mind. Her back straightened, and she held her head high. She should be proud to be attending with such a notorious man who was worth the immense attention.

And in those moments as they moved inside to mingle with all the guests who gaped at them, Sarah realised something significant: where all of these lovely creatures failed to gain the Goblin King's intimate acquaintance—standing outside the walls of the labyrinth hoping to gain entrance—she, Sarah Williams, had overcome the maze and what they sought had been offered freely from his own hand.

* * *

><p>Seraphina signalled a servant to refill her golden chalice. Once it was full again, she took a long draught and savoured the sweet mead rolling over her tongue. Her brilliant blue eyes swept over the crowded Great Hall of the Adamant Palace with calculating scrutiny. She tilted her head so that her curtain of hair—so blonde it was nearly white—shimmered under the golden light gilding the entire room.<p>

She was a Fay woman of a very high house amongst the Sidhe, and known for her great beauty and cunning. Many a man had asked for her hand in marriage, but each one was refused; although she'd had her dalliances on occasion if one of them pleased her for a time. And so she was extremely aware of her allure and used it for her own purposes but often just enjoyed the attention it gave her, either the desire of men or the jealousy of women. Her skin was very fair, her blue eyes large, and her figure slender and tall. Tonight she wore a blue gown the colour of the sky with silver beading done along the tight bodice which was cut fairly low to expose a broad expanse of skin. Seraphina had learned to use her wares for her benefit.

A couple of maidens under her thumb of persuasion stood with her amidst the throngs while she kept an eye on the variety of things happening all at once. Secrets and information had always proven useful.

The son of King Fayden and of King Rulen entered together: always the closest of friends since their early years and always causing mischief. Seraphina thought King Rulen's son was fetching, but he was not one she wished to entangle with, so she turned aside to find someone else of interest.

But the herald's next announcement brought the entire Great Hall full of hundreds of revellers to a near standstill. Seraphina herself barely managed to hold the chalice that threatened to slip from her grasp as shock jolted straight to her toes.

"Jareth son of Taylen, King of the Goblins and the Goblin Kingdom!"

She stared with the rest of the masses. He hadn't been seen in so long that many had forgotten what he looked like. She hadn't. She could never forget what he looked like, the sound of his voice, or those curious eyes. And there he was. He often wore darker shades to match his darker moods, but tonight he had donned pale breeches, a silvery-grey shirt, and a silver coat that glinted in the light. And of course cream-coloured gloves to match the pants, always gloves. He looked the part of a mighty king stepped out of ancient days haloed by light and glory, but as was their way, he had not aged a day.

Seraphina felt the familiar sensations of desire and desperation that burned in her heart whenever Jareth the Goblin King entered her thoughts. To her utter despair, he never once gave in to her attentions or seductions. Not even a hint of it. Just as he was to so many, he had been a stone wall of a fortress immutable; but that did not stop her from wanting him to be hers.

And then she saw it. A creature stood at his side.

The fire turned to a blazing flame of fury. Jareth had not come alone but brought a woman with him. The girl had dark hair drawn back in a tumbling mass of shadowy curls placed with gold flowers, and her dress was an enchanting green wrapped with golden vines that showed off an impressive female figure and swished like trees in the wind on the floor. She was strikingly beautiful and bore an air of grace and kindness about her like a coveted cloak.

Seraphina gripped the chalice full of mead in her hand until her knuckles whitened and her magic almost crushed it into oblivion. If violence had not been forbidden at these occasions, she already might have pushed her way through the others to lash out at the woman with what power she had.

Jareth and the girl glided down the pair of steps to join the rest of the guests and disappeared from view.

She reined in her composure and quelled the fires burning in her breast till they iced over into a frosty chill that made her eyes as hard as gemstones. That wretched woman would find that Seraphina was not one to sit back and let another woman possess the Goblin King.

* * *

><p>Every imaginable colour gleamed beneath the high ceiling of the palace in the resplendent vesture of all the Sidhe with crystals, gems, stitching, feathers, and all manner of ornamentation that had them all shimmering as they passed by on their gliding feet. A rather short, petite maiden with golden hair swaying all the way to her feet wore bright blue jewels about her neck and arms. A man stood speaking with a large company, his hair silvery as were his eyes and clothed in pale green that reminded Sarah of sunlight glistening on tropical waters. A group of women all wore white, silver, and pale colours that gave them an angelic aura as if the air around them truly was dusted with their light. The styles varied from more traditional ball gowns to long vests on the men to dresses of fantasy that the mortal world would find outlandish.<p>

Laughter and voices were melodic, sweet, and like the sound of bells or waters of a running stream. So much of their qualities made one think of elements of the natural world. And they were all fair and merry that she could see.

The Great Hall itself was magnificent with a ceiling inlaid with silver working and a floor below made of white marble with gold veins. The walls were hung with silver and green banners, and the lily-shaped lanterns hung on delicate chains both from the walls and from the roof, giving off a warm light that bathed them all like sunshine.

It was slightly reminiscent of the infamous masquerade. Yet this time there were no garish masks, simple clothes, or walled boundaries. In another room beyond this one Sarah could see a myriad of dancers whirling around to music thick and sweet like honey.

It surpassed her expectations and impressed her into awed silence. However, it remained to be seen whether the fair folk were as fair towards mortals in their midst.

Jareth still firmly but gently kept her arm in his. His presence was soothing and kept the feeling of being overwhelmed from flooding her senses. He was her anchor in a sea of the unknown, something familiar and welcome. It made her laugh inside to think how bizarre that once would've been.

"How do you think so far?" he asked in his crisp voice.

She looked up at him and found his inscrutable mask in place. "I'm finding the word 'beautiful' suddenly lacking and overused. This is the most wonderful thing I've ever seen! Just these moments have been worth it all even if we were to leave right now." When she saw the shift in his expression begin, she hurriedly added, "But we're not leaving yet, Goblin King. I'm sure there are some long lost acquaintances for you to mingle with."

"They are long lost for a reason, dear Sarah," he said virulently. Yes, that definitely was a sardonic cast to his unique features.

"I'm sorry you must suffer, but I'm still extremely grateful you brought me. Plus, don't forget I owe you a request for it," she said with a soft smile. _I don't really smile at him much do I? I've been doing it a lot lately though..._

He seemed to appreciate it too because the biting attitude softened a little as he gazed down at her. It looked as though his eyes traced every curve and line of her face.

Just as she was being drawn in yet again to his magnetism, a voice shattered their solitude at last. It was only a matter of time before someone finally worked up the courage to approach the mystifying Goblin King.

"Jareth! My, but it's good to see you after all this time!"

Jareth's face dropped, and he sighed heavily. "Sarah, just remember to say as little as possible. This is going to be a very long night..."

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><p><strong>NOTE:<strong> The celebrations has begun! And it's all just getting started...just you wait and see what this lovely evening has in store for our pair ;)

Review if you enjoyed the chapter or have questions or just have something to say!


	17. In Search of New Dreams

**A/N: **Quicker update! Everybody celebrate! Because Jareth and Sarah are celebrating. At a Fey ball. Wish we all could be there too ;D. But hopefully I'm taking you all there in your minds! The eventful evening continues, and as much as I really want to get to the chapter after this one (ahem) this is necessary first, so take a look and get to know some new characters :)

**Elisabeth S**: Yep, like I've said to some other people, my descriptions can get out of hand. Lol! I just really wanted to paint a vivid picture, but that won't be needed anymore now it's established. I WANT TO SEE THEM KISS TOO! Oh wait...It WILL happen. I promise :D. It will be worth the wait...Thanks for reviewing even if you couldn't log in!

**WolfeAnimation:** Your review put a huge smile on my face! I'm relieved to know that the characters have stayed true to the original because that's what I really wanted to do throughout the story. Didn't want to stray to OOC territory! It happens sometimes though, but I'm glad to hear it hasn't really so far :). And also to hear that my descriptions aren't ridiculous or overwhelming! Whew. I'm so relieved, haha. I can get carried away...Thank you so very much for your review!

Heartfelt thanks to:** Kaytori, Elisabeth Sinclaire, The Queen of Water, Invoguewetrust, nortega, mearra, , Senshi at Heart, gothicrocker2, WolfeAnimation, CompleteBookworm2,** and** deerstop**. You guys always make my day!

Enjoy!

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><p><strong>Chapter Sixteen: In Search of New Dreams<strong>

**...**

**...**

Jareth turned around to face the new arrival whose voice he vaguely recognised. As he suspected, it was King Alaster who was one of the Sidhe Court and owner of the Adamant Palace itself. The king was as tall as Jareth, broad of shoulder, and had long brown hair down his back. His eyes were as green as the leaves on the trees. He turned up his sharp chin and bent in a subtle bow to his guest.

"King Alaster," said Jareth in acknowledgement. Alaster was decent company, but he aimed to please all too desperately at times. It kept his lands at peace, but it could become irritating when he refused to ever disagree just to avoid conflict.

"Welcome, welcome! You are very welcome here, although no on...eh, I didn't expect your attendance. It is a pleasant surprise."

"Hm. You seem to be doing well."

"Oh yes," said Alaster with a proud glance around the Great Hall at all his happy guests. "Very well. And what of yourself? Come! You must have so much news to tell after all this time hidden away in the Goblin Kingdom, and—" His bright green eyes finally dared to look upon the woman standing listening. "Who is this lovely creature?"

Jareth prepared himself for whatever variety of reactions Sarah would receive, but he at least knew Alaster would say nothing insulting. "This is Sarah Williams." It was best not to try and give her any other title or label. How would he explain anyway? Sarah stubbornly refused to choose one way or another, so he couldn't say she was a lover or an acquaintance. Friends? That made him want to laugh bitterly. He hardly thought of her as a _friend_.

"A pleasure to meet you, Sarah Williams," said the high king with a bow. "I am King Alaster of whose home you now stand in on this splendid evening. It's not often we, uh, receive your kind here. It is an honour."

"Thank you, your Majesty," said Sarah with a genuine smile. She never failed to be gracious whether to strangers or friends. Jareth once had been annoyed when it helped her reach the end of his labyrinth, but lately it was growing on him. "The Adamant Palace is very beautiful, and I'm glad to be able to join you tonight."

Alaster beamed. "Thank you, lady! It seems the mortals still have fair speech."

Jareth cringed and subconsciously drew Sarah closer to his side. "I'm sure we will see you again later, Alaster."

The abrupt end to the meeting made the king blink quietly a moment before cheerfully bidding them farewell till later. His eyes lingered on Sarah as he slowly turned aside to find someone else to mingle with; no doubt to gab about the pair. Sarah watched him go with a curious light in her eyes.

"He seemed kind," she murmured.

"Alaster is ever the hospitable host."

Having Sarah so close to him without breaking away was beginning to muddle his senses, but it made the entire evening worth the cost. He had agreed mostly because he wanted to give her everything she asked for—not to mention she'd promised him something in return—and yet another reason had been more of his own agenda. Midsummer's Eve was a grand and romantic occasion ideal for trying to win the heart of a woman. The night sky above, dancing to enchanting melodies, and everything dreamlike. Their dance had been interrupted once before when he nearly had her ensnared, but not this time. This time there wouldn't be an interruption to stop them from falling.

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><p>As soon as King Alaster left, a few more Fey followed in his footsteps to approach the sought-after Goblin King. They all greeted him respectfully and with genuine surprise.<p>

A couple wearing matching shades of peach and gold in a material that moved like water were first in line. They were the definition of merry Fey.

"King Jareth! You gave us all quite the shock when you arrived," said the woman. "I cannot count the years since we've last seen you."

"Nor can I," said the man. His grin was almost unbearably bright. "The celebration is all the better to have you here."

Jareth's indifferent demeanour put them off a few remarks later. Three maidens approached with delicate smiles and vibrant dresses pooling at their feet.

"Certainly this will be a Midsummer's Eve to remember," spoke the one in the middle with black hair and deeply smooth tones. "I think your face has almost been forgotten."

One of the others giggled in her tinkling voice. "Oh, that's nonsense! How could anyone forget your face?"

"And who is this with you? I see she is a mortal. I would not have expected the Goblin King to mingle with…humans…"

Jareth tensed with those words. "Excuse me, ladies, for we must be moving on."

The three simpering women were left behind, but a few minutes later their place was taken by two rather short male Fey who made Sarah think of quiet pools of water in the forest. They clearly were brothers or some sort of relation. Both bowed in sync.

"King Jareth, welcome to the festivities at last. You were not expected. But you usually are not. I suppose we all shouldn't be surprised when you do the unexpected."

"Hm. Quite," said the king with an air of disinterest.

"Do you think we shall have any other surprises for the evening?" asked the second brother.

Jareth suddenly paid attention and tightened his hold subconsciously on Sarah. "Let us certainly hope not. If there are, they had better have nothing to do with me."

And so other guests continued to greet them.

Sarah listened as they tried to pry information out of him, asked who she was, and generally tried to slip past the walled defences barring him from their charms. They all seemed friendly enough, but they were quite nosy.

Most of them treated her respectfully, but the hall full of them was not without some icy glares or cold indifference. Sometimes she wasn't sure if it was because she was human or because she was the woman on Jareth's arm. She wasn't blind. Whether they were Sidhe or not, they were female and the looks he was receiving were very appreciative, blatantly seductive, or laced with interest more subtle. Apparently the King of the Goblins was well sought after by women.

Sarah wanted to roll her eyes at some of the looks but restrained herself to maintain decorum. Besides, those looks usually transformed rather hastily once she was noticed. Apparently some of the Fey immediately decided they didn't like her judging by the glowering.

Jareth led her towards the next room with slightly lower ceilings but just as much grandeur. Flowering vines decorated the windows and lined the walls with white and blue blossoms. Tall windows lined the far wall with a spectacular view of the lake outside which rippled onto the white shoreline and reflected the ancient trees towering over its edges.

_Dancing...Oh no. I don't know if I can do this again_.

Sarah was entranced by the swirling feet and moving bodies all forming together in a synchronised assemblage without one step out of place. Truthfully, Jareth had nailed down her dreams and ideals perfectly when he sent the masquerade vision because she'd always dreamed as a young girl of being swept off her feet at a ball, dancing until the night was old with a mysterious, handsome man. Dancing was a weakness of hers. It drew her in like a magnetic force into its graceful beauty. But to be swept away into the crowds with the music by an alluring man was the deeper weakness that Jareth had directly perceived.

He opened his mouth to speak, but he closed it just as quickly.

A woman approached. This Sidhe woman was like the summer sun. Her hair was deep gold and her eyes a similar shade—which startled Sarah at first because of the reminder of Fiachna, but there was a warmth in them that was not feigned. She was about the same height as Sarah and wore a pale gold gown that, in combination with her unique colouring, made her appear a beam of sunlight standing in the room. But those gold eyes were deep like wells without end: ancient and wise with many, many years written within.

"Jareth, it is good to see you," she said with a wide smile.

She definitely gave off a motherly air. Jareth actually respected her with a slight bow and did not look on her with his indifferent mask, although he still held his cool, composed visage.

"Ètaìn, I hope you are well."

"I am, thank you. And what of you?"

A bit of a smirk curled his lips. "Well enough."

Ètaìn addressed Sarah without waiting for Jareth to introduce them. "And who might you be, my dear?"

"I'm Sarah Williams." She stopped herself from putting out her hand for a handshake and curtsied instead as Jareth had taught her.

"I am Queen Ètaìn, although you needn't call me with such a formal title while I'm away from home. I've not heard tell of you before. I assume you are visiting recently? Oh dear! You're not one of the poor things wished away to Jareth are you?"

Sarah laughed, feeling at ease with this Fay woman, no matter that she was a queen amongst her people. "No, no, not that. Uh...there is good reason for my being here in the Underground, but...well..."

"It remains concealed for now," Jareth finished.

"Ah, ever the bearer of secrets and mystery; especially when you decide to attend a celebration you've avoided for so long. And not alone." Ètaìn lowered her voice a little as her smile faded. "Jareth, you know very well that rumours run rampant among all these folk and that they thirst for tidings of you merely because you keep things so close. Might I suggest answering at least a few inquiries to satiate at least a little of the curiosity? It would do you well, I think, in your position." Her eyes pointedly looked at Sarah before returning to him.

"I'm not a fool, Ètaìn. You should also know that their rumours and whispers do not trouble me in the least."

"It was not for you that I spoke."

He contemplated her remark in quiet. While doing so, an extremely tall Fay bowed before them. He had shorter earthy coloured hair and skin like bronze. Like the others, his face was ageless and his eyes long aged.

"King Jareth, my heart is glad you have come. Might I have a word with you?" the tall man asked with a deep baritone.

Jareth hesitated, glancing at Sarah and Ètaìn.

"Go, Jareth. I will stay with the girl," said Ètaìn.

Sarah nodded when he looked at her. She leaped at the opportunity to speak to the elder queen alone. Here was someone who knew Jareth and their world in a completely different way than someone like Mary. He grudgingly obliged and walked away with the other Fay lord which told her just how much he trusted this woman. Ètaìn turned to Sarah and beckoned.

"Come and walk with me. We'll stray a little from the noise."

Once they were closer to a corner of the room and far from the fair minstrels playing upon their wondrous stringed instruments and flutes, Ètaìn looked curiously at Sarah with those eyes that had seen ages of the world pass by like years.

"Sarah Williams. From the Aboveground. I know you cannot tell me much of why you're here in our world—or with the Goblin King, no less—but I have such great interest in this. Your presence is widely speculated and wondered at by all here, but do not let it trouble you."

"It might sound unusual, but it actually doesn't," said Sarah. "I'm not a stranger to the stage where hundreds of eyes are watching your every move and hanging on every word. I don't know any of them, and so their opinions just...slide off in a way. Most likely because I already knew they would speculate all about me."

"So he warned you then. Good." Ètaìn snatched two crystal glasses from a passing servant and handed one to Sarah. "He enjoys pushing people to their limits, putting them into situations where they must react or make decisions they never had to before. It's not intended to cause harm but to strengthen and reveal what is inside of them. I feared this might've been one of those situations, but it seems there's more to it than I realised."

The golden queen's words dug deep into Sarah's mind. The woman didn't know she'd been through the labyrinth and understood better than most. It was like another puzzle piece fitting into place to hear it from someone else.

She lifted the glass to her lips and took a sip. Jareth had warned her not to drink too much of the golden mead since it would have such a strong effect on a human, but this one was perfectly clear like water, and yet it burst on her tongue with vivid flavour. It was crisp, fruity, and something else she'd never tasted before. _Better not drink too much just in case..._

"How do you know Jareth?"

"Ah. His mother and father."

Sarah stared at her with even greater intrigue, those simple words enough to draw all of her in with sharpened focus.

"They were friends and dear companions to me and my husband."

"Were?" Sarah asked softly.

"They are no longer with us, but that is something he must tell you himself. He's the only one with that right, and I suspect he'd like to tell you anyway. If he even will. Don't hold too much hope for that tale."

Sarah's green eyes scanned all the faces around but could not find the Goblin King. His parents were gone then. That was unexpected and yet somehow she knew tragedy of some kind had marked his gaze just as it had all of these ancient beings who'd lived long enough to know great suffering or sadness more times than mortals. It was no wonder so many bore such wisdom.

"I..I think he's lonely. He chose to be alone, but I think it finally began to take its toll," she said. "I misjudged him sometimes, but I'm beginning to understand so much more."

"Sarah Williams," Ètaìn said with a touch of a smile and her eyes bright, "you do not know how it gladdens my heart to see you and hear you speak. Jareth may put on his usual mask for us all to see, but I've known him all his long years and can see there is something different. You are what's different. Please, Sarah, for whatever reason you are here, I ask that you consider...consider his heart."

Desperation hovered on the edge of Ètaìn's chiming voice, and Sarah found herself shaken by it. "His heart?"

"Yes, his heart. Please. Don't forget this," she said, touching a hand lightly to Sarah's bare shoulder. "Forgive me, but I must go now or else I'll say more than I should and displease him. I truly hope this isn't the last time we meet. Farewell, Sarah Williams. May your dreams soar amidst the stars."

Ètaìn nodded her head once in farewell and disappeared into the crowds, leaving Sarah standing alone drenched in confusion. There were more than a few stares directed her way, but they didn't matter right now.

Her dreams. What were her dreams anymore? Somehow she knew they were changing. Jareth had offered Sarah her dreams more than once, and yet now she couldn't say for sure what they were. Being in this fantastical world was stirring up things and chipping away at who she was and what she wanted.

A silken voice of a woman sliced through the background noise of music, laughter, and chatter. Sarah whipped her head around to see who addressed her.

The Fay was gorgeous in an otherworldly way like many of her kindred. Her hair was almost white it was so pale, her large eyes were brilliantly blue, and her features were delicate. Sarah had noticed that they were as varied in dress and bearing as humans, some demure and some immodest, some timid and some bold, and so it went on. This woman clearly was the latter on both accounts, and her presence dimmed Sarah's confidence a little.

But those eyes were so cold.

"Good evening, mortal," she said. "I had to introduce myself to the girl everyone is talking about. I am Lady Seraphina of the White Mountains. And who are you?"

Sarah gave her name with a respectful curtsy. This woman made her feel on edge. Unlike Queen Ètaìn who was all sunlight and warmth itself, Seraphina was like the biting wind from the North or the cold yet lovely snows of winter.

"How did you come to be here?"

"Oh...uh, I knew Jareth—um, the Goblin King—and am just visiting." She cursed herself for the fumbling of her words and the terrible answer. Clearly he'd told her to speak as little as possible with good reason.

Seraphina drew a sip from her golden chalice before responding. "That's very interesting. You see, I know him _very_ well and am surprised by his company tonight. It's been long since we last were together, and I'd hoped to spend some time with him. He has always been very dear to me."

Sarah did not miss the stressed words or the coy expressions. Clearly the woman was implying a relationship of some kind between her and Jareth. But was it the truth? He'd said enough to make her wonder if he'd actually entangled himself with any of the Fey maidens, and it didn't seem likely. Or was that a determining factor in separating himself? She'd have to keep a keen ear and eye with this Seraphina.

"I see. Well, he's around here somewhere, so I'm sure you could find him."

That response seemed to throw the Fay off balance. She blinked at Sarah, then regained her hollow smile. "It makes me so very glad. This will be a joyous reunion! He will be so delighted to see me, I'm sure. And it's so kind of him to let you come to an event such as this being what you are."

That one stung a little. Seraphina obviously was versed in the subtleties of court dealings with words that could weave barbs or compliments with an adept tongue. Her façade was slipping away and baring her true intentions.

She continued. "Enjoy this evening, girl, because this will be the last you see of us all. It's such a privilege for you, but it cannot last forever." Her sweet voice was grating on Sarah's ears as it clashed with her actual words. "Besides, it's so very dangerous here for one of you who are so frail and without protection."

_Okay, she's creeping me out a bit now_, Sarah thought as she looked at the beautiful yet hard face. _That sounded suspiciously like a threat._

Even as that thought occurred to her, she felt an unseen force brush against her neck like fingers starting to wrap around her throat. Just as panic seared a blazing path through her body, the feeling instantly disappeared.

Jareth suddenly was standing right beside Sarah with one shoulder angled in front as if coming between her and Seraphina. His face was that of a statue with such a terribly stern expression hardening every line and plane like the chisel of a sculptor.

"Jareth, darling, there are no words to express how pleased I am to see you here," Seraphina said with liquid charm. She completely ignored Sarah while laying out all her wares before the handsome king.

A strange fire sparked in Sarah's chest. Who was this woman and what was she trying to pull?

"Seraphina," Jareth greeted without even a hint of a bow or nod of his head. His voice was hard like stone. "I cannot say the same. Don't you have some other man wrapped in your ties yet?"

Sarah couldn't help but look up at him in surprise, not expecting such sharp words for this beguiling maiden called Seraphina. It sent a tinge of satisfaction through her. She'd seen many a man fall prey to a pretty woman and her manipulations in her world and was proud to see Jareth avoiding such pitfalls. That was the only reason of course...

Seraphina eyed him warily but did not give up her charade. "None of them are worthy of it. I'm holding out for one who's worth the effort, but he puts up quite a fight against it. I am not sure why really..." Her aquamarine eyes took a sparing glance at Sarah. "He is very defiant and even chose a weak plaything over me which seems an act far beneath him. I still hope to claim him despite his odd behaviour."

_As if I don't know what you're really saying_, Sarah thought. Under the fingers she'd placed on his arm she felt Jareth's muscles tense, and his jaw twitched. Clearly Seraphina was blinded by her own desire and selfish pursuits to truly understand Jareth and how to actually earn his affection rather than force it. Didn't any of these people understand that he couldn't be forced?

"Careful Seraphina," he said in a low, rough voice. "You play with words that might catch fire. Others may get caught in the webs you spin, but I see straight through them all."

"Then you're a fool," she spat. "You're offered something that no one else can have, and yet you still spurn the chance as if you didn't care."

"_That_ is because I don't."

The Fay maiden clenched her fists at her sides and stiffened so noticeably that it was like invisible bonds wrapped around her. That cold gaze turned on Sarah.

"Wait, mortal girl, and you'll find that your time here is short. He'll tire of you and toss you aside because you could never compare to one of the Sidhe. You're just a frail mortal creature that doesn't belong in our world."

Just as Jareth moved as if to step forward to confront Seraphina, Sarah gripped his arm and beat him to it with her response. "I've met women like you before in my world and you're proving to not be so different. Just because you feel insufficient doesn't mean trying to make me feel the same will satisfy you. A bully is a bully in one world or the other. Your words mean nothing to me."

The muscles tensed beneath her fingers relaxed instantly, and out of the corner of her eye she saw Jareth's head turn sharply to look down at her, but she kept her eyes on Seraphina without wavering. Just as she didn't let him push her around in the labyrinth, she wouldn't let this woman try to cow her either.

Seraphina didn't throw a fit or turn red with anger, but she seemed to grow even colder and harder than before like a rock iced over by the chill. Her large blue eyes stared murderously at Sarah, but eventually she spun around and stalked away like a cat who didn't catch its mouse.

"Wow, she was..." She trailed off when she looked up at Jareth. Was he going to laugh at her?

"Sarah, you continue to amaze me." Sure enough, he chuckled softly. "It did her far more insult to have you tell her off rather than me. That went much better than I expected."

And as Sarah looked around the hall, she didn't feel quite so out of place anymore. She'd held her own.

Yet the woman's poisonous tongue had planted a seed with the one sliver of truth she had spoken: "but it cannot last forever." Sarah was mortal, they were immortal. Even if her heart was beginning to take root in this world, the image of Mary reminded her that her kind aged with every year just the same as in her world. Didn't Jareth realise his mistake?

"Can we step outside for some air?" she asked softly.

Jareth had been eyeing the dancers moving about wildly to a passionate tune, but he nodded and walked through the high arch out into the moonlit night with Sarah once again on his arm.

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><p><strong>NOTE:<strong> Yes, I've left you on another subtler cliffhanger. Please don't hunt me down...But please do let me know what you think of the chapter :)

Reached a 100 reviews! Celebrate! To clarify, I don't write stories on here to get the most reviews possible as I know some writers on the site do aim for. That would be a vain pursuit because how many will it take to make you happy? But the stories with the most reviews do usually get the most attention (publicity in a way) so it's one of the only ways to get the story out there for people to see. Agh. Just review when you feel so inclined and I shall be content with having reached 100! But it would be awesome to reach 200...:D


	18. I'll Lay My Love Between the Stars

**A/N:** Happy November to you all! Guess what that means? Thanksgiving in a few weeks and only a month and a half till Christmas! LOVE Christmas time. On to the story because I keep leaving you all hanging a bit, hehe...aaaannd you may kind of love and hate me all at once by the end of this chapter...

**Colicade:** Yes, love does need time :). I'm so glad you agree and that the progression is worth the wait! Thank you so very much! I highly appreciate your review and you taking the time to articulate the things you like about the story :)

**hungrypiranha:** The cover is a good idea, but I'm kind of going along with Jareth's personality which he'd be the type to answer questions with an attitude of "it's none of your business, and I don't want to answer." That would be a great idea though if I were to take the route of giving everyone an explanation. I wasn't very 'brilliant' and didn't really think of doing that, haha. Thank you though! Glad you're enjoying it :)

**Alionya:** Chocolate? That's quite a compliment, haha! I certainly will continue until it's complete. Always. I refuse to leave a story undone! Thank you so very very much. It's satisfying to a writer to have their readers enjoy the story so much :)

Big, giant, humongous thanks to my awesome reviewers: **Alionya, hungrypiranha, Colicade, Kaytori, She with the hazel eyez, Invoguewetrust, DawnRain, The Queen of Water, CompleteBookworm2, , DaniellaPeirce, deerstop, boybandelflover, Reine Shadow, Aleta Wolff,** and** Guest** (whoever you are :D).

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><p><strong>Chapter Seventeen: I'll Lay My Love Between the Stars<strong>

**...**

**...**

Lighted lilies glowed white, gold, and silver around the grounds behind the palace, leaving pools of light at their feet and illuminating the shadows of night. Not a single cloud hovered in the sky, so the vast arrays of glittering stars shone across the entire black expanse and the moon gleamed bright in their midst. The stars reflected on the surface of the lake, and the moonlight shimmered on the dark waters like a wavering path leading to something magical. The grass was cool, and the air was fragrant.

Sarah got lost in the splendour of it all. There was such peace and stillness here that made her forget about their strange encounters and the impending danger looming around them.

She slid her arm out of Jareth's grasp and walked closer to the white shore where the water's gently lapped, but because of her dress she stopped before her feet sank into the sand.

Out into the night, a voice pierced the air. It was someone singing inside the palace. Sarah turned her head to look back in wonder at the entrancing minstrel whose voice rose and fell smooth and clear unlike any human could manage.

They stood listening for a little while until Jareth broke the stillness.

"It's tradition. An unparalleled singer is chosen to sing the ballad "Midsummer Night" to welcome in the summer solstice. The feasting and the dancing stop and everyone stands silent to listen."

"It's absolutely beautiful," she whispered.

The captivating richness and ringing clarity continued a bit longer. Not another sound could be heard except the stirring waters and a faint rustle of grass in the breeze. One last resounding note swirled around them all, echoed over the lake, and faded into silence.

An eruption of applause and cheers burst from the palace and from all those outside like the two of them. Colours and lights burst up in the air as the cheering continued. They weren't fireworks but certainly reminded Sarah of the Fourth of July confections with a strong dose of magic.

"The midnight hour has struck then," said Jareth.

A booming voice that sounded like King Alaster announced the hour just after Jareth's comment and asked someone to sing for them. From what she could hear of the rest of his words, it now was time for any who wished to sing songs for all to hear as the height of the celebration arrived.

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><p>The ceremonial "Midsummer Night" ended on a final piercing note, but Seraphina didn't pay much attention. In her mind she plotted ways to get rid of the girl with Jareth or ways he would need her help, or anything she could muster. She would not give up simply because he was toying with some pathetic mortal: that just gave her a good challenge.<p>

A creeping sensation tingled down her spine. With a subtle move of her head to the left, out of the corner of her eye she saw a dark figure standing a few feet away. Not all of the Sidhe were creatures of light and all things lovely for some preferred the night, the shadows, or the side of evil rather than good.

With a flick of her eyes she saw his face: Fiachna the Raven Mage. As she suspected he would, he noticed her interest in him and looked directly at her even though she no longer paid attention. In a moment, he was moving to stand beside her.

"Seraphina," he said in deep tones as his eyes swept over her. "It's always a pleasure."

"It was once before, Fiachna," she said as she finally deigned to confront him. "I'm surprised to see you here tonight and hadn't noticed you before."

"I've only just arrived. No point in wasting too much time at this glorious occasion."

She swished her straight, fair hair over her shoulder. "So you have a particular reason for coming. What might that be? Odd considering Jareth also attended, and everyone knows how you loathe each other. Or at least, how you loathe him. Ah, I see that you already know that. Is that why you've come then?"

His golden eyes gleamed with a strange light, and he crossed his arms over his chest, all draped in black and gold. He studied the revellers celebrating the summer solstice with renewed enthusiasm. "Perhaps it is. Why should you wish to know? Oh yes, you're still pining over him like a child over its lost toy. Are you ever going to move on?"

She sent an icy scowl his direction. "Says the mage who can't seem to let go of some grudge against the same man. Ironic for you of all people to comment on stubbornness of will."

He shrugged his shoulders, but a cruel smile curled his lips. "I say it only because I heard all the rumours spreading around this place like fire in the wind. It seems he'd rather a mortal girl than you."

Seraphina hissed at him and angled her body away in cold rage. Fiachna knew just where to send his arrows to pierce the sharpest and the deepest. But her reasoning slipped in amidst the anger and formed an idea that quelled her emotions.

"Fiachna," she purred, "there seems to be a common thread tying us together." She rested a hand on his arm and slanted her eyes seductively at him as her fingers trailed up to his shoulder. "What we both want could be achieved if we worked together."

Fiachna did not react to her attempts to mould his mood, but he did grow still as thoughts churned in his mind. She could see he was considering her words with great depth. It was a minute later that he looked at her again with a new light sparked in his eerie eyes.

"My dear Seraphina, you may be right. The solution to your problem is the key to solving my own problem. And thus my solution becomes yours as well. But why do I need you to help me?"

"It appears you plan to use the girl against him, but I see nothing of this scheme of yours in play. Have you succeeded yet? I thought as much. If we act together we can form a plan that actually works. I distract Jareth to get him away from that mortal for enough time that you can sweep her away to wherever you please and kill her."

"Kill her? That's an assumption on your part."

"I'd rather she was dead," Seraphina spat. "That would leave Jareth alive for me and him wounded enough to please you. Am I correct? I refuse to deal with you if you plan to kill him. That isn't what I want."

"You have given this much thought," he said with a bitter laugh. "I also considered this. Better to leave him alive and suffering, but do you forget? Our kind have a powerful weakness, one that plagues him just as much as the rest of us. His heart. If I take the girl's life, he could very well die."

"That's a risk we must take, and I do not think she's dear enough to him for that yet."

Fiachna eyed her with a frown. "You do not realise the depth of their relationship then, Seraphina. I think it very likely. You were not there when he came to defend her." His voice had dropped to almost a whisper, and his eyes grew haunted. "This is a dangerous task no matter what we do for we face the wrath of the Goblin King. Do not think he will stand by and let it happen without a fight. Even if we succeed in taking her life, he will seek revenge. If he comes for me, I will kill him. Whether you wish it or not."

Seraphina pondered his words and the emotions behind them. She desired to make a deal with the mage to get what she wanted, but their desires were two different things, and she was willing to betray him for Jareth's sake. This could work out in her favour better than she ever expected. Jareth surely would try to take revenge on Fiachna who would fight for his life, but she could intervene to help the Goblin King and so claim a debt or affection for her efforts. Then the Raven Mage would be gone along with the truth of her allegiances.

"Yes. It is a risk worth taking. I am willing," she said. She was practised at lies and deceit, and Fiachna was too blinded by his bitterness to see through her intentions. "What is your first move?"

"Well, now that that is settled," he said with a pleased smirk. "It's a known fact that you cannot properly distract him, so I will do that part and you will capture the mortal."

* * *

><p>"This is the best karaoke I've ever heard."<p>

"What?" Jareth's face was bathed in pale light enough to see his expressions. His was flummoxed.

"Oh, something from my world. Don't worry about it," she said hastily. She didn't feel like explaining something like that right now when everything was so lovely and tranquil.

"Such curious things," he said.

Had he gotten closer again? His voice sounded somewhere just over her shoulder. He moved without sound and startled her half the time. And he never was moving away from her: always closer.

_What if it's like New Year's Eve for them and their traditions? A kiss. Stop Sarah! Don't go there..._

"Seraphina made it sound like you two were...together...before."

As soon as she said it, she regretted it. Was now really a good time to ruin the mood by talking about that woman?

Jareth made an indignant sound in his throat. Yes, he certainly was close. She could almost feel his looming presence hovering just behind.

"That woman only wishes it, but I wouldn't go near that creature even if it meant my life," he said. "Does anyone willingly cast themselves into the web of a spider? Besides, I'm no fly to be ensnared by her but rather an owl to hunt her."

Sarah shuddered.

A feather-light touch grazed her bare shoulder. "Why, are you jealous, Sarah?"

She shuddered again but on account of something more. "N-no! I just thought maybe you parted ways as lovers and that's why you isolated yourself." _I wasn't jealous because I assumed there wasn't anything between them. But...I would have been if there had. Oh no. Oh no, no, no...What have you done, Sarah?_

She knew she was highly attracted to him from the very start. No question there. But she thought that was all there was, being attracted to his obvious appeal and strikingly handsome features. Lately though, she recognised the familiar swell of her heart and the anticipation before he arrived in the same room. She had been fighting it from the start, but what if she didn't? Her excuses were stricken away one by one until now when there was nothing to hold onto anymore.

It was fear. Fear of leaving everything behind to choose him. Maybe she could visit home, maybe not. Beloved friends and family waited back there in the Aboveground, some she'd known all her life, and it frightened her to think of having to make a choice. They would become her past. And Jareth…

Jareth actually gave a curt laugh. "Not one of these Fey can claim any such thing. That certainly wasn't why." His fingers pushed aside some of her dark waves of hair from her pale throat, but she still stayed facing the lake.

"Was it because of your parents?" she said softly.

His fingers lifted away from her hair. "Ètaìn. What did she tell you?"

"Not much at all really. She just said they were gone. She didn't want to make you angry by saying too much."

"Yes," he said solemnly, "they are gone. They both died over four hundred years ago, but the story is one I will not tell."

"I'm sorry for bringing it up." She wanted to turn and see his face, but she was afraid of what might happen if she did. Although he'd removed his hand from her soft locks of hair, he still stood close. In fact, he moved even nearer so that she could feel his warmth radiating on her back. Her pulse raced in her throat.

"Don't be sorry, Sarah," he said with a lighter tone.

For an instant she caught the strains of a haunting melody floating out from the palace. From the few lines she could make out, it sounded like a tragic love story.

"You sang to me when I was here before," she said with a new thought. "But I haven't once you heard you sing this time. It makes me worry that I've put too much of a burden on you with all the stuff that's happened with...well, you know."

She felt his warm breath faintly hit her skin when he sighed deeply. "I spoke rashly when you first arrived. You're never too much of a burden, so don't think such nonsense." His apologetic tone was rather non-apologetic sounding compared to most, but he did treat everything with such aplomb. "Would you like me to sing for you?"

"Oh, I didn't mean—"

"You didn't?"

She frowned. That reminded her of their very first encounter in her parents' bedroom when he burst through the windows as an owl and transformed before her eyes. She heard his silver coat rustle as he put slightly more space between them.

And then he began to sing in a quiet voice that thrummed bewitchingly in her ears.

_No one can blame you,_

_for walking away._

_Too much rejection,_

_no love injection._

_But down in the underground,_

_you'll find someone true._

_Down in the underground,_

_a land serene, a crystal moon._

When he stopped, she opened her eyes and stared at the moonlit waters with an ache in her heart. Those words. They found a deep place in her heart where old wounds lay as scars. Did Jareth know about what happened to her with her mother or with Christopher? The words he sang fit so well that it sort of frightened her.

"My mom left when I was still a kid. She wasn't ever mean to me, but she was pretty caught up in a life I wasn't a part of. All the time she talked about her career, how her fans adored her, and making it big on the stage. I got left behind." She fingered some of the thin material of her gown between her fingers as she told him the tragic tale. She just needed to let him know. "When she left, I hardly ever saw her again. I realised then that she cared more about being a dancer and an actress than about her daughter. She might love me, but she got caught up in the glamour of it all. As a kid, that broke my heart."

There it was out in the open. Her closest friend Amber was the only one she'd really talked about it with, but it felt such a relief to loose it from her soul.

"I know it might sound silly since a lot of people have had someone do something like that, but it really left me broken. Rejected. That song you sang wasn't just some song to me. I just needed you to know."

A long spell of silence passed between them. It felt as though a weight was off her shoulders.

Jareth finally spoke. "It doesn't sound silly, as you put it. Broken dreams and broken hearts are never trivial. And, as a matter of fact, that was something I sang for you once when I first knew you, although you didn't hear it at the time."

"What?! For me. When I was in the labyrinth?"

"No, when I _first_ knew you. You see...when you made the wish, it wasn't the first time I'd seen you."

Sarah couldn't help it. She spun around to face him and found him rather close. She had to tilt her head back a bit to meet his eyes. The pale shades of his clothes glowed so very faintly in the light. His head was crowned with stars, and the moonlight glimmered in his eyes.

He was more dangerous in this moment than he ever had been sending the cleaners, the goblin army, or the giant steel goblin machine. Much more dangerous.

"Wait a minute, what does that mean? Were you spying on me? For how long?"

"Of a sort," he said with a quirk of his lips. "I stumbled upon you one day in that park of yours and found you quite intriguing. On occasion I would return to see you because there was something about you, something that ensnared me so that I would never be free. Such a sad love deep in your eyes..."

He reached out to gently touch her face. She didn't pull away.

"I was too rash," he continued after letting his hand fall back to his side. "I offered you something you did not yet understand." A grim smirk barely diminished the impassiveness of his face. "Perhaps your impetuous youth had some effect on me after all."

"No, I didn't really understand, but I knew that it was choosing Toby or...choosing you. Why did you make me choose like that?"

"Make you?" he scoffed. "You wanted me to be the villain, Sarah, and so I was."

That she couldn't deny, and she lowered her head with the weight of it.

"In that dream, as soon as you pushed away and as soon as you broke out of it, I knew...I knew I'd lost you."

The ache in her heart was growing even though the way he said everything was like stating simple facts. She raised her head and said, "But you still tried again in those last moments when it was just you and me."

"Of course I did, Sarah. Even with such a great challenge presented to you, you still pressed forward and never gave up. But you're not the only one who doesn't like to give up even when it all seems hopeless."

The more the Goblin King said, the more she began to tremble. This was the most forthright they had ever been and it terrified and thrilled her all at once. She backed away a few steps and turned around to clear her head in false hope that her heart would calm down instead of trying to beat out of her chest.

But there he was just behind her again, this time placing a hand on her waist and leaning in by her ear. Her breath hitched.

"Your dreams...they're shifting," he whispered. "I can sense it even this moment."

Jareth was right. He was too right.

His nose brushed her ear as he leaned back. The hand on her waist slowly brought her around till she was facing him once more. She was under his power yet again, but this time she didn't try to stop it. They gazed long into one another's eyes with the stars shining bright above them until Jareth couldn't wait another moment. He gradually bent his head.

She could feel her whole body trembling. She knew what was about to happen.

But it didn't.

Jareth recoiled with an angry cry of pain.

* * *

><p><strong>NOTE:<strong> *silence*

Before you hunt me down, I shall try to update sooner than usual so it's not quite so evil of a cliffhanger ;)

So...what do you guys think? All that build up is finally breaking through eh?


	19. Live Without Your Sunlight

**A/N: **Whoa. Deep breaths everyone. Calming deep breaths.

Holy shmolies Batman. Those were the most passionate responses I've ever gotten for a chapter, lol...As I predicted, some of you both hate and love me, some with a bit more hate. Ha!

Now go read on and find out what the heck happens after that terrible cliffhanger I left you all on :)

Thanks you great readers: **Eliza, CompleteBookworm2, , The Queen of Water, She with the hazel eyez, Yuri Amuyu, Kaytori, Reine Shadow, benslilbug, Kinzichi, Elizabeth Sinclaire, hotforteacher3, DisneyRBD, hungrypiranha,** and** Guest**.

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter Eighteen: Live Without Your Sunlight<strong>

**...**

**...**

In an instant, Jareth had two crystals in his hand and stood in front of Sarah like a fortress wall of protection. He threw one into the air.

It burst in a ball of flame in the distance where the red light illuminated a figure of shadow deeper than those of the night.

Sarah's eyes darted to every side. Would Fiachna attack alone when there were so many Fey around? It all was surreal like a dream shifting from one thing to the next without warning, and she didn't know what to do. She had no power like the Sidhe, no weapon, and they were out in such an open place. She could only hope others would see and come to their aid.

Jareth barely managed to avert another attack. His back was to her, but she could see the tension rigid in his posture. It was awful being completely helpless.

He threw the second crystal with a powerful arm. It hit the ground by the dark figure of the mage, rolled all around his feet, then burst into a wall of encircling energy. The whitish-blue manifestation crackled and leaped up as high as the dark one's head, but his power strove against it like hands pushing out against a pliable barrier.

Just when she thought it might hold, it split asunder and shrivelled away. Fiachna's hands were slightly visible as he waved them around. Nothing came towards them. Instead, all the lights in his vicinity blinked out so that only the silvery outline of moonlight showed where he was. Then he cast a deep shadow around him.

Another attack followed. Jareth cast a sphere into the air that spread into a glimmering wall that destroyed whatever malice the mage had thrown their way.

Sarah felt a familiar touch of unseen hands wrap around her. She opened her mouth to scream, but nothing came out as she felt herself tugged backwards into the air. Her body hit the ground after flying far from the battle, and she winced at the impact; but the invisible bonds did not let go. By her stood a pair of feet touched by the hem of a bright blue gown that was vaguely familiar, but she couldn't lift her head to see. She could still hear the sound of the two men locked in a battle of magic.

Everything had happened in seconds.

For a few horrifying moments she thought she was caught for good this time. Jareth was distracted. She was captured. All they had to do was magic away to some other destination, and the king wouldn't know where to find her.

Icy tendrils crawled around her ankles and then her wrists. She shivered from the harsh cold that clamped around her skin. It was like ropes of ice.

Whoever stood beside her holding her with their power was struck to the ground by a strong force that burst with white light. The Sidhe rolled a few feet in the grass from the intensity of the blow.

Voices reached Sarah's ears, voices coming from the direction of the palace and drawing closer with each breath. Relief flooded her veins.

She still could not see much of the woman who captured her in the dark of the night, but the Sidhe stumbled to her feet and vanished before anyone got close enough to get her. All the bonds holding Sarah disappeared as well. She leapt to her feet but groaned at the throbbing pain in her right shoulder that took the brunt of the fall.

"Are you all right, lady?" a chiming voice asked her.

She turned around and found three different Fey running to her rescue: two men and one woman. Their eyes were wide and their mouths set in determined lines. The one who spoke to her was a tall, willowy fellow with kind eyes and a green coat.

"I-I am," she stammered, "thanks to all of you."

"Well!" he exclaimed. "We are glad to hear it. We'd better get you inside."

"Wait!" She looked where she last had seen Jareth, but he wasn't there.

"I'm here, Sarah."

She whirled around to find him standing right behind her. His face was grim, and his eyes still aflame with wrath; but it was not directed at her. Otherwise he appeared to have no injury and not to have been in any sort of fight to begin with.

"He is right. We should go inside."

She nodded, not sure what to say. "Thank you all again. I'm greatly indebted to you."

"Not at all," said the Fay woman. "We were not about to let some foolish imps do you harm."

Jareth reached out and put a hand on her arm. She let him lead her back with the three others following close. No one spoke another word until they were inside where throngs of curious onlookers barraged them with questions about what happened. Jareth waved them away and forced a path through their midst as the three Sidhe who had come to help stayed behind to answer some of the inquiries.

Every eye was on them once again. The peace of the Midsummer's Eve gala had not been disturbed for many an age, but here the odd pair had stirred up more than one round of commotion.

King Alaster stepped in front of them as they reached the Great Hall. "I am so terribly sorry, King Jareth! So terribly unfortunate. Whoever it was that did this has broken some implicit rules of the Summer Solstice celebration and will face justice if they are caught. Is there anything I can do?"

"Just don't jabber about this to everyone, have a servant show us to our room, and let us go to rest. We are turning in for the evening."

Jareth pulled Sarah along past the anxious host towards a grand pair of stairs curving up to the second level of the Adamant Palace. Alaster signalled to a servant standing in the shadows who immediately walked ahead of them to show them the way. Many of the guests who were from further kingdoms would take up the hospitality of the king to stay a night or more in the palace. Up the staircase wound to an extremely broad corridor lined with lamps and figurines shaped from crystal on short pedestals. It split off at the end going left and right. They went to the left wing.

The solemn servant stopped at a door at the end of the hall and led them inside.

"You may stay here, your Majesty. You were an unexpected guest, so quarters weren't prepared, but this was unoccupied. I hope it will suffice?"

"Yes, it will. Goodnight."

The servant bowed, then closed the door behind him.

"Um, Jareth?" Sarah said quietly as she looked around the large space. The whole ordeal had diverted her entire focus, but at last one significant detail dawned on her. She was jolted by a stroke of nervousness. "One room? Didn't you mean two?"

"You really think I'd leave you alone after that attack?" he scoffed in a quiet yet sharp tone. "I don't intend to leave your side again until we're back within my own castle."

"You're very angry," she stated simply.

His laugh was scornful. "I'd be a fool not to be! You cannot even understand the depth of it." He gritted his teeth and stormed across the room.

It was spacious with a large bed in the middle covered in deep blue coverlets. A silver mirror the height of Jareth leaned against the right wall, and a couple chairs draped with the same dark shades of the bed sat to the left. Everything was decorated with silver and deep blue. Also, a pair of doors opened out onto a balcony overlooking the lake. It was dark save for one lit silver lamp that cast shadows over the floor.

Jareth had stalked over to the doors and threw them open. The night air swirled in. Sarah wandered around the room to distract herself and give him some time to cool off outside on the balcony. She could see him gripping the balustrade as if it were Fiachna's throat.

Sarah finally joined him out in the evening air, hoping his fury had abated enough to pry a few answers. She settled beside him, resting her hands on the white stone barrier and watching the stars twinkle out on the lake.

"There was a woman helping him, but I didn't see her face. Her dress was a blue like the sky, and she was thin—but most of you are so that doesn't help much. It was too dark for me to see her face, and she didn't say a word."

Jareth's grip loosened a little, but he did not look at her yet.

"I didn't see her face, but what happened reminded me of someone I met earlier. Before you came back when you left me with Ètaìn, Seraphina as good as threatened me and it felt like large hands sliding around my throat. They were gone the instant you appeared. That's what it was like when I was grabbed while you fought the mage."

"Seraphina," he all but growled. "There could be no other. I would stake everything on that fact."

"Please don't. There's so much at stake already."

He finally turned his gaze on her. "You're so very calm about all of this."

"Would you rather I stomped my foot and yelled 'it's not fair!'?"

Jareth actually smiled a bit at her sardonic joke, yet the barely contained fury lingered in his eyes like a fire burning behind glass windows.

"It is what it is," he said, "but that does not change the fact that I've failed you twice."

"Failed? Is that what you call keeping me from being kidnapped and killed? I'm right here. They didn't get me thanks to you." She leaned forward to try and get him to look at her again. She winced. The right shoulder still smarted from the hard blow to the ground.

He noticed her flinch of pain and instantly reached out a hand to faintly trace the bare skin. It didn't hurt, but Sarah was not unaffected by it in other ways. "Yes," he said, "but both times you weren't left unscathed. Twice he's brought you harm. Twofold he will pay the price."

Sarah shuddered at the severity of his voice and the cold intensity of his face. To have Jareth as an enemy would be terrifying. As far as anyone could tell, it seemed the Raven Mage and the Goblin King were somewhat evenly matched, so who would win an outright contest of power and will? Both battles so far were brief and had involved one of them caught at unawares. What sort of terrifying spectacle would it be for a full-on war between them?

"It will just be a bruise, nothing more," she insisted. His gloved hand lifted away from her skin, and she sighed. That had felt quite nice. _Stop Sarah_, she told herself. _You're getting caught up in all of this._ "Why didn't you go after him? You're so upset, I thought…I thought you would hunt him down to the end once he showed up."

The question certainly did nothing to calm him. "Because it is what he expected, for me to behave rashly and blindly chase after him, but all the time I've known him there is no doubt he would have laid a trap. I wanted nothing more." His head turned aside so she couldn't see him very well. "Except…except for you to be unharmed."

Once more he began drifting away in his mind and was no longer fully present. Neither was she.

Sarah's heart tightened in her chest, and she reached out to gently rest her hand on his arm. She had not forgotten what had been happening when Fiachna interrupted, but he was still too angry to talk about it or to pick up where they left off. She was both relieved and disappointed. He cared about her so much! He went to such great lengths to protect her! No one cared for her like he did.

Her soul shuddered.

But all the friends and family back at home…They came unbidden to her mind with memories and an ache of longing from being gone for so long. Last time she was in the labyrinth, no time passed in her world, but it had been so long now this second time, would it be the same? At first she assumed they wouldn't be worrying about her since to them no time would slip by with her absent, but now she wasn't so sure. The longer she stayed, the more she began to wonder about them and the life she was missing at home.

A part of her felt at home here in the Underground—she now freely admitted and understood—but then another part of her longed to go back and leave all this wild adventure and danger behind.

But could she abandon Jareth? After all that had happened this time? With all the emotions she now felt?

She was torn in two, and a sharp pain at the rending echoed in her soul. Something would have to be given up. Something would have to be let go of.

_Maybe it was best then that we didn't actually kiss_, she thought glumly. _He doesn't deserve a girl who can't make up her mind all the way. I wanted it. I know now. But I have to decide before I can offer everything._

In an emotionless voice he said, "Go to bed, Sarah. You'll need the rest."

"As if I could fall asleep after that!" she huffed. Her adrenaline still pumped through her veins, and the tumultuous thoughts still reeled in her mind. "I'm not tired."

That stony gaze turned on her, and she swallowed hard. He leaned over her, using his height and imposing presence to intimidate.

"You look as though you're going to fall over from weariness. I suggest you go lie down for I am no good company tonight."

Any other time she would resist, but right now she didn't feel like fighting back. There had been enough of that for one night already, so she gave him one last hard stare for good measure and went back inside. He was right. At any moment, the adrenaline would run out and all the day's events would crash down around her.

"What am I supposed to wear?" she muttered as she plopped onto the edge of the bed. The dress was too lovely to sleep in. She looked at the wardrobe against the wall and decided to check just in case.

As it so happened, there were a few things in the wardrobe. She wasn't quite so surprised by these circumstances anymore after all the bizarre events that already transpired in this magical realm. What surprised her these days were the ordinary things appearing in such a fantastical place.

Now was one of the moments she missed certain items from home. A pair of sweats and a large sweatshirt sounded wonderful and incredibly cosy, but they didn't have those here. So she pulled out a white nightgown that maintained a sort of decency—Jareth's presence in the same room during the night didn't go overlooked—and draped over her slender frame in pretty folds of soft muslin. There was a changing screen in the corner that she hastily threw it on behind without too much trouble getting out of her exquisite gown, for which she was overwhelmingly glad considering she did _not_ want to ask Jareth for help getting out of it. Dark pink stained her cheeks.

He still hadn't come back in. Sarah sighed and slid underneath the thin blankets of the large bed, and as soon as her head hit the luxurious pillow a wave of exhaustion swept over her. Her eyes fluttered closed, and her breathing grew deep. The last few coherent thoughts clung to consciousness and hovered around the front of her mind.

_He was going to kiss me. The Goblin King that stole my baby brother was going to kiss me. And I was going to let him..._

_I hate you Fiachna..._

* * *

><p>Jareth heard Sarah's soft shuffling come to a stop after a while and took a glint over his shoulder. It appeared she had done as he asked—commanded really—and settled into the bed to sleep. She might not fall asleep right away, which was perfectly reasonable after the blood rushing through their veins after barely escaping a catastrophic event, but he knew eventually the excitement of the day would take its toll.<p>

Anger still burned within him.

The whole night he had been on his guard with a sharp eye on the lookout for anything suspicious or any sign of the Raven Mage, but then he'd completely let it fall as he got caught up in a rare moment and, of course, that's when the wretch decided to show himself.

He finally had made a breakthrough with Sarah, but the attack ruined it all. He finally felt at ease in hope that the mage would leave them be at the grand occasion, but he was taken by surprise when he should've seen it coming.

But what angered him most of all was the fact he didn't follow Fiachna to hunt him down and slay him, and so the great fool had escaped unharmed all because Jareth couldn't bring himself to leave Sarah behind or risk flying into a trap.

Not again. This was the last time. As soon as they returned home, strategies he'd formed in his mind would be put into being.

Fiachna the Raven Mage's time amidst the living was slowly ticking away just like Sarah's thirteen hours had once counted down the babe's fate.

Jareth pushed away from the balustrade and the view of the lake under the moonlight and returned to the shadowed confines of the room. He closed the doors gently behind him when he saw that Sarah had indeed already fallen into sleep. Her hair was like silken shadows splayed over the pillow, the moonlight illuminated her alabaster skin with a pale glow, and her face was cast in a serenity only slumber could grant where all her features were at rest. She was a vision for his tormented soul.

The encounter with Fiachna worried him on more than one account for he'd learned too quickly that the mage was more powerful than he thought. Long years ago Jareth had been the greater without question and Fiachna the annoying fly buzzing about his ears, but clearly someone was training and growing his powers for just such a situation. Fiachna had become a real threat, a threat that might even match him in strength.

He slipped the cream gloves from his hands.

With cautious movement and careful approach, he stooped over Sarah's still form clothed in gossamer white and reached out a bare hand. His long fingers softly touched her brow, imparting peaceful dreams and warding from nightmares. They caressed her cheek and swept over her jaw.

_So much for the dance,_ he thought.

"I will protect you, dearest Sarah," he murmured softer than a whisper. "Even if it meant giving my life. And I fear...it may very well be so."

At last he pulled away with great reluctance and drew his hand from her face. He put the gloves back on and settled into one of the chairs most distant from the bed.

And there he would remain until the morning.

* * *

><p>Sunrise the next day turned everything to hazy gold and gilded the surface of the lake. Even the Adamant Palace looked more golden than silver in the warm sunlight. The air was sweet with flowers and the sap of trees.<p>

Sarah opened her eyes to a new day. For a few moments, she was lost as to where she was and why, but soon it all rushed back to memory. Then she also remembered she wasn't alone in the room in the Adamant Palace.

She quietly rolled over to survey the other side of the room and there sat the Goblin King in a simple chair as if it was the throne back in his castle, a casual posture with a leg hanging over the armrest and his elbow resting on the back. However, his face was anything but casual.

Although she'd tried to be quiet, he immediately noticed she was awake and stirring in the bed. Those mismatched eyes regarded her with an unreadable glaze, but no anger or severity was in them when he looked at her.

"Good morning," she said as she sat up letting the blankets fall to her waist since she thought the nightgown hardly scandalous. It was odd to wake up and see him. Amber she was used to bounding in her room on weekend mornings to tell her something or just to bother her, but this was very different. Of course there was a bit of self-consciousness about coming out of a deep sleep to an attractive man watching you when you had no idea if you looked all right or like one of the goblins on a bad day.

"Good morning," he greeted. "What was that about not being tired?"

She glanced down at one of the pillows and considered throwing it at him. He deserved it if he was going to tease her first thing when she didn't have all her wits about her yet. Knowing him, it'd probably stop in mid-air and be completely pointless.

"Yes, well I guess it's exhausting when someone tries to kidnap you." There might have been something of contrition in his face at her remark even though she was joking. "What about you? You look like you didn't even go to sleep at all."

Of course he didn't look like someone who hadn't slept the whole night, but he seemed rather alert as if he had been awake for a while or hadn't even rested at all. With his behaviour, she guessed the latter.

"Since I didn't drown myself in the golden mead of the Sidhe last night like so many of my kindred, sleep was not necessary," he said. "We don't need the amount of rest that mortals do. I trust you slept well."

"Yes. Very well actually."

"Good. You will need all of your strength and wits for today." He rose from the chair. "Today we go before the Sidhe Court."

"What? Whatever for?" So much for a quiet morning after the eventful night before.

"They wish to know everything that happened and why." He flicked a hand in casual gesture. "It seems pointless to me since it's clear they will not act towards Fiachna even when they hear it all, but they left a note under the door as soon as dawn breathed. Don't worry though," he said with a smirk, "you need not speak too much in front of them."

She leaned on her arm, her hair falling around her face. "I guess things don't often go like you plan them to."

Jareth's laugh was not of mirth but something darker as he glowered, staring at nothing in particular. "No, they certainly do not. Do they ever?"

"You would know better considering you've lived a much longer life."

A stillness fell over them. It was peaceful with soft sunlight, quiet birdsong from outside the windows, and a comfortable quiet amidst two who had become more than acquaintances. Sarah slipped out of bed while Jareth watched something outside or drifted in his own thoughts. She stretched on her tiptoes and stood in the gentle shafts of light falling through the window panes. Out of the corner of her eye she saw Jareth's gaze turn to her and take her in. With a glance down she realised the white gown faintly revealed the outline of her figure beneath the sun, and although it was no different if she were in jeans and a t-shirt, she felt a little embarrassed under his piercing eyes.

She turned and directly saw him watching her, but he did not look away when caught. That was the difference about him. With all the men she'd dealt with—more boys still than men—they acted so hesitant for so long while the Goblin King had made it clear from the beginning what he wanted.

A gentle shudder ran down her back.

And yet she was not wholly uncomfortable. Waking up to him first thing in the morning was not so bad.

"I'm going to get ready to go see this Sidhe Court," said Sarah, easily holding his eyes. "So I'd appreciate it if you went outside the room or something." She knew she likely opened up the perfect opportunity for him to tease her somehow.

This time he didn't though. Like a serpent, he darted to his feet, nodded once to her, and hurried out onto the balcony with the doors closing hard behind him. It was a little odd to not hear any sort of quip, teasing, or remark. Was the Goblin King a little flustered?

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><p><strong>NOTE:<strong> Things are getting a little intense, no? Let me know what you think! Even if you're wanting to kill me for delaying the Kiss ;). It WILL come. There will be around ten more chapters or so left in the story, but it won't take nearly that many for the event we've all been waiting for. Patience! Patience my lovely audience :)

Oh, and let me clarify so none of you need fear: I WILL NOT ABANDON THIS STORY. I NEVER LEAVE A STORY UNDONE. IT WILL BE FINISHED AND I WILL NOT LEAVE YOU HANGING. There you are. So many of you are begging me to keep going and not leave it off, so I wanted to promise you all that that will not happen.


	20. Wasn't Too Much Fun at All

**A/N: **Long time, no see! Heh...So that was way too long to keep you guys waiting! Hope all of you had a wonderful Thanksgiving though and are enjoying the holiday season. I'm SO EXCITED for Christmas! Even more than that (I can't believe this hasn't come up yet!) I CANT FREAKING WAIT FOR THE HOBBIT! Who else is excited? I'm counting down the days (have a calendar marked up), painfully waiting in this last stretch, and catching all the media/photos I can to pass the time! Aaaaaaghhhhhh!

Okay, I'm done freaking out about The Hobbit. On here anyway...;). I probably just sounded like a jr high girl flipping out over something, therefore I am not revealing my true age because of embarrassment...I really am one of the biggest Tolkien/Middle-earth geeks around though, but it's the real source material of the books that I first fell in love with and hope you all will read them if you haven't already.

This is not one of the best chapters, but it's still necessary. Not to quench your interest, it's just one of those kinds that I didn't really enjoy writing very much. BUT please still read and enjoy!

**Shorty4life:** Haha, don't die! Thanks though. Glad you're along for the journey :)

**Shobgoblin:** Thank you so much! Your review meant a lot to me! It's true: I wanted to write a story about Love, not lust, because there's way too many just about lust which is empty. Your compliments encourage me! Made my day :). There will be more in Jareth's POV but not too often. I know it's fun to read, but I like to keep him a little mysterious still ;). Thanks again!

**ME a guest**: I'm also tired of good stories being abandoned. It's just not fair to readers. Man, the hype for this kiss is killing me...Haha!

Thanks to:** , deerstop, She with the hazel eyez, The Queen of Water, Elisabeth Sinclaire, Kaytori, ME a guest, mearra, XXPay4XtraShippingsXX, Kinzichi, WonderousFantasy, PheonixBreaker90, babybrat-vet, boybandelflover, Shobgoblin, Shorty4life,** and** CompleteBookworm2**. You guys are so amazing!

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><p><strong>Chapter Nineteen: Wasn't Too Much Fun At All<strong>

**...**

**...**

"And you're sure my being here is necessary?"

"Yes, Sarah, it is. This involves you just as much—or more—as it does me."

Sarah drew a deep breath. They stood outside the doors to the hall where the Sidhe Court was meeting in King Alaster's palace the morning after Midsummer's Eve. Although she had met some of them last night, to stand before an official meeting of all twenty of them was intimidating.

She may have bravely faced a great host of strange, difficult, or fearful situations, but courage was overcoming fear, not the absence of it. It was choosing to press forward in spite of the fear trying to hold her back.

The doors swung open.

The room was circular and quite large. One long table shaped like a crescent moon sat at the head of the hall, and a thin round carpet embroidered with Alaster's house sigil lay in the very middle; it was there she and Jareth stood before the twenty seats occupied with the highest nobility and royalty of the Underground.

"Greetings King of the Goblins. And greetings Sarah Williams," said the extremely tall Sidhe that had taken Jareth aside the previous evening with skin like bronze and earthen coloured hair. Jareth revealed his identity to her before they entered, and it turned out he was none other than King Chorian, High Seat of the Court. His features were very prominent and perfectly sculpted, and he sat as if clothed with great majesty and glory. "We've convened today and asked for your presence for obvious purposes: the attack last night."

"I know who it was," said Jareth without hesitation. He could be pretty straightforward most the time, but Sarah assumed this lot were used to it if he was around in times past.

"Could you really see well enough in the dark of night?" asked a Fay sitting three down from Chorian. Even with such a long nose he managed to still be fair.

Jareth almost glared at the fellow. "It is not a matter of seeing his face only but of so much more. There are a limited amount of Sidhe who've chosen Darkness rather than Light, and out of those there is one who bears specific hatred towards me. Not only this, but this is not the first attack Fiachna the Raven Mage has made against me and those under my care. Fiachna is the one who broke your rules last night by committing acts of violence."

"So he has expressly threatened you and assailed you before?" Chorian clarified.

"Yes," Jareth bit out.

Sarah stood at his side silent. She knew it would be unwise to speak unless first spoken to. It was the custom of the Court gatherings, but soon it would be her turn to answer questions. Her eyes drifted down the line of noble Fey until they fell on a kind, familiar face. Queen Ètaìn sat on the left beside a man who looked to be her husband by the way his hand rested over hers and how he leaned over to whisper in her ear from time to time. Ètaìn nodded in wordless greeting to Sarah when their eyes met, the traces of a smile on her lips.

For a little while longer they discussed the situation of Jareth and Fiachna's relationship and the evidence against the mage. Sarah tuned it out a little since she already knew everything they were saying, although she found it curious how Jareth avoided telling anything about her.

"So this is the mortal he desires to harm," a Fay woman with long black curls, white skin, and a deep voice for a woman spoke.

"My name's Sarah." She would not be known as 'the mortal,' not after all her time spent among them.

A few suppressed smiles appeared in the room, but the woman continued.

"You should send her back where she belongs, Goblin King, so that she no longer has to be in the middle of our affairs. Your affairs. There she will be safe."

"No, she will not. That's where he found her in the first place and will willingly go again to retrieve her now that he is bent on my destruction and her harm. Do none of you understand this creature?"

Jareth swept his blue eyes over the Court. Custom here dictated them as his superiors, yet he treated them as equals at the very least; but what Sarah found the most incredible was how they allowed it as if they did not mind. Maybe Jareth's excuses for Fiachna's enmity weren't excuses, and maybe it really was jealousy that drove him to this place in its beginning. After seeing how he was treated with awe, respect, and immense curiosity at the annual celebration—not to mention desire by more than a few maidens—it didn't seem surprising at all.

A few of the Sidhe whispered amongst each other at the news. Apparently this was not as simple a problem and solution as they thought.

"Jareth," began Chorian in a grave voice, "may we have leave to question Sarah Williams?"

"You may," he said glancing down at her.

They weren't touching, but she stood rather close so her shoulder almost brushed his arm. It was bad enough to have them all wondering about their particular relationship, so she would not give them anymore fodder for gossip or assumption. But now it was time to watch her words carefully more than her actions.

"Tell us, lady, what happened last night."

And so she did. The imaginative writer in her wanted to share it like she did her stories, but this audience would probably just think her a bizarre little creature, so she kept it basic. It definitely sounded a lot less exciting though.

"A second perpetrator?" a couple of them exclaimed.

"Do you know who they were?" asked Queen Ètaìn. She was leaning forward with great interest.

"It was a woman with a blue gown, but that is all I could see since she had me tied up."

"We strongly believe it is Lady Seraphina," Jareth cut in before more discussion broke out in their midst. "She threatened Sarah earlier that evening and wore a bright blue gown. She's been known to make...unsavoury...connections to further her goals in the past."

"That is a dangerous road to accuse her without solid proof," said Chorian. He tapped a finger on the tabletop as he thought for a moment. "But we will seek her whereabouts and question her if we can."

"So?" said Jareth with a stern voice, crisp and smooth yet deadly. "What have you decided is to be done? Or was this all in vain?"

"Do not be so quick to rule out our authority," one of them spoke.

"Peace," said Chorian with a raised hand. "We've heard all there is to hear—or so you say—but this is not an easy decision to make."

"I did not ask for your interference. You asked for us to inform you of what's going on and what has happened already, and we have."

"But do you not wish for something to be done?"

"Nothing can be done by you," said Jareth with a calmer tone. His hands hung clasped behind his back, and his head titled a little. "It's not a direct threat to any of you or multiple Sidhe or an entire realm. And none of you would be willing to take his life."

A thick silence fell over the hall as all of them stared at the Goblin King.

"You knew it would come to this eventually for that creature is bound with hate and darkness that are eating at his soul. Why so surprised? He's made me such an enemy that this would happen sooner or later, and now it has. It's time. He has declared a war between us, and I will NOT back down until this problem is reckoned with."

"Then this is in your hands," King Chorian said with finality and a touch of sorrow. "You will bear the responsibility of whatever happens, but do know that if Fiachna is found, he will bear punishment for his actions last night if nothing more from us." His bronze skin gleamed as he stood from his seat in the middle of the Sidhe Court. He bowed and left the hall with a purposeful stride.

The others watched him depart and began filing out themselves. Ètaìn was the last to remain as she made her way towards them. Her husband had gone on without her talking to another of the Court.

"Jareth, are you sure this is wise?" she pressed. Her golden waves of hair were bright in the sun pouring through the high windows.

"It is what must be done. There is a dark creature hunting Sarah and so I must hunt _it _before it does any more harm_._ I've had enough."

Ètaìn set a warm hand on Sarah's arm and looked into her eyes. "I am so very sorry, dear, that you must be a part of this mess. I suppose you shan't ever wish to return to the Underground after all this."

Sarah opened her mouth, then closed it. How to respond to such a remark when she herself didn't know? In the past couple weeks, she had nearly forgotten about going home and what it would be like to return to the normal life. She would be leaving a lot more behind this time. Did she even want to go back anymore? Again, she was slightly frightened by her emotions and the changes inside of her that were reshaping her dreams.

As if sensing her unease, Ètaìn continued. "What if she came to stay with us Jareth? He would not know where she was and would certainly find it difficult to break through to get her if he did. Where you are one, we have many of our kindred in my kingdom. She would be safe." She bent an imploring gaze on him.

Jareth hesitated as if actually considering it. Sarah's immediate response was to decline, but the offer did sound like wisdom.

"No," said Sarah. They both whipped their heads to stare at her. "No, I can't. Your Majesty, I am extremely grateful for the offer, but I think that would just stretch this out even longer. It would be better to just get it over with and deal with it as soon as possible."

"Sarah—" Jareth began.

"You know it's the truth," Sarah interrupted. "That man is a coward and only comes out of hiding when he knows he has a real chance, so if I go hide somewhere else he won't come out until he tracks me down. That could be a while. You said yourself you wanted to just be done with it."

Ètaìn couldn't seem to decide which one to look at while they gazed at one another. It felt his pale eyes were delving in her soul again. Her pulse spiked when an unbidden memory from the night before misted before her eyes: his head crowned with stars and his face drawing in so close she could feel his breath on her lips.

He must have been able to see her blush because one of his elegantly arched brows rose and the corner of his mouth turned up a bit. "Then it is settled. You stay with me."

Those words resounded in her mind as if they had so much more meaning than the surface appeared. _You stay with me_. She tore herself away to face Queen Ètaìn who nodded her head knowingly.

"It is as I suspected, but do not forget the offer in case there is a change of heart. I just wish there was more protection for the both of you instead of using yourselves as bait for your enemy."

"Bait! That's it!" cried Sarah. She closed her mouth when her yell echoed in the hall. In a quiet voice she continued: "Use me as bait and lay a trap for him."

Jareth's amused expression quickly darkened. "Absolutely not. We're done speaking of this."

"But—"

"Ètaìn, thank you for your graciousness, but we will be returning to the Goblin Kingdom today," he said. "I think you will find that our enemy will not do as well as he thought. I am sufficient protection for Sarah."

_That's not what he said last night_. Sarah's heart lifted within her when Ètaìn grasped both her hands and looked her directly in the eye with those wise golden orbs. The woman truly was graced with such kindness and warmth.

"Farewell, Sarah Williams," she said. "I hope to see you again someday and also hope to hear good tidings. May the blessings of all the Sidhe go with you and may you be protected by the Light against the Darkness that seeks to consume you."

"Thank you, Queen Ètaìn. I will never forget your kindness."

Ètaìn bid farewell to Jareth as well, laying a hand on his arm and meeting his eyes for a long while. A silent understanding passed between them. He seemed thoughtful once she had gone in a last glimmer of gold lingering at the door, like a beam of sunshine faded away by the veil of a cloud.

"Sarah, we're going home. Immediately."

_Home_, she thought. _Where is home anymore?_

There wasn't anything to pack and a lot of the Fey still rested after their long night of revelling, so Sarah and Jareth left behind the Adamant Palace and King Alaster—who bid them a hundred apologies and farewells. The king watched as they stepped outside and walked the same main path they had when the pair first arrived until they were far from the pale palace and its verdant grounds.

Sarah looked back one last time to see the glittering Lake Effervescent as a bright backdrop to the white and silver structure built like a chapel of trees twined together. So much had happened in that palace and in the evening of Summer Solstice, memories forever etched into her mind where they would live on till her death.

And yet she was glad to be returning to the labyrinth and the Goblin City. They were familiar and less imposing in their way with creatures who didn't look down on her or make her feel insignificant in her mortality.

Jareth didn't even ask this time if she would take his hands. He just slid his over her smaller ones and held firmly. She closed her eyes and felt the odd shifting as they transported magically back to his kingdom.

When Sarah opened her eyes, she glanced around in confusion. Instead of standing either in the castle or outside its doors, they were at the gates of the labyrinth. Or at least where the gates should have been, but they were difficult to discern in the encompassing wall. The pool of water stood nearby where she had first met Hoggle, and the memory made her smile.

"You remember."

Jareth's voice broke through her reverie as she took in the golden sand, the gnarled trees, and vines wrapped over the tall wall. "Of course. How could I forget? This is where it all started and where I met a good friend."

She moved around the area a little, eventually trying to find the gates without anyone pointing them out. It was then she wondered where Hoggle was. When she asked Jareth, he conjured one of his crystals and held it up to study the image forming in its depths. His face hardened, and he crushed it into nothingness with a fisted hand.

"What?" she asked. "Is he all right?"

The Goblin King motioned with his hand and the doors into the labyrinth swung open just a few feet from where Sarah had been searching. "Get inside. It's not safe out here. Go!"

Sarah did as he said as a stab of dread pierced her heart. He followed quickly after her, and the doors closed fast with another motion of his. Yet again she found herself standing at the beginning of the maze with only a choice of going right and left between the towering walls that glittered a little in the sunlight; except this time she was with the very creator of the labyrinth to whom it bent under his will.

"Your friend Heggle—"

"Hoggle."

"Yes, Hoggle, is fine, but he won't be as soon as I get my hands on him."

"What? What's going on?"

Jareth grabbed her arm and began towing her along down the right. The branches and loose stones moved aside out of the way of his feet. In his eyes writhed a storm similar to the one the night before but with greater purpose and less pure fury burning on the edges. There was more control.

"That pathetic dwarf has done something he will regret as long as I allow him to take breath," he said in icy, clipped tones. "His tasks are simple: see to pieces of the labyrinth, watch the gates, and do as I say; but he's made a grave mistake that will cost him."

"Can you just tell me instead of all these riddles?" said Sarah with a sigh even as she tried to keep up with his long legs.

"It seems he has allowed someone inside, a little visitor to keep him company."

"Oh. Oh, wow. Who on earth would he let in?" She couldn't imagine who the dwarf would befriend so quickly with his gruff nature, not to mention she was surprised he would directly disobey Jareth whom he feared so much. But of course he had defied his lord for her sake once upon a time and showed that streak of courage buried deep within him.

"Another dwarf."

He slowed down and walked through an opening that she hadn't spotted at first, and she knew then it must have been the very one she used with the help of the little blue worm. But when she looked, there wasn't any sign of the creature except the hole that led to his home. Oddly enough, Jareth turned immediately to the left instead of the right.

"But I thought right was the way to go?" she asked.

He had eventually released her arm and was ahead of her. He glanced over his shoulder. "Right? But left leads you straight to the castle."

Sarah's mouth dropped open in shock. Her feet rooted to the ground for a few moments, but she hurried forward again when he continued on without her. "You've got to be kidding!" she exclaimed. "That worm. If I ever see that worm again..."

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><p><strong>NOTE:<strong> What did you think? Hmm, what will happen next?

Drop me a review and tune in next time ;)


	21. Don't Tell Me Truth Hurts

**A/N: **So this is a miracle getting this up today because I'm so overwhelmed with excitement, anticipation, and general freaking-out-ness since The Hobbit premieres TONIGHT. Whew. Love that a bunch of you responded to that and enjoy Middle-earth as much as I do! Or at least somewhat as much, haha. I was totally that kid in class writing Middle-earth runes on my papers when I was bored, then going home and learning Elvish. Heh. Anywaaaay...I'm getting more excited about this story now that things are beginning to move and as the conflict rises. And considering the chapter after this one...

Deepest thanks to: **The Queen of Water, mearra, boybandelflover, XXPay4XtraShippingsXX, Kaytori, PheonixBreaker90, ButterflyOnTheWall, Alexandria Keating, gothicrocker2, Kinzichi, willowrain, BadWolf49, Mikume-chan,** and** CompleteBookworm2**.

Enjoy!

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><p><strong>Chapter Twenty: Don't Tell Me Truth Hurts<strong>

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**...**

A few minutes down the left path with Jareth leading and Sarah was convinced she still would have gotten lost if she'd taken that way instead of the one the blue worm suggested. He knew exactly where he was going and the labyrinth didn't shift around him as it had her every time she turned her back. It almost seemed to open a direct path before his hastening feet. The dark brown and gold shifted to a more natural colour of stone, and the towers of the castle loomed straight ahead in the distance.

"Where is Hoggle?" she asked when Jareth suddenly stopped.

He had changed into shades of black leather that morning before going before the Sidhe Court and stood like a dark statue surveying the creation of his own hands. "The wretched creature confers with the other dwarf somewhere in the hedged portion where you once spoke with the old wise man," he answered. "There is a courtyard with a case of stone steps with a statue at its peak, and that is where they sit."

"Why don't you just go there like you always do instead of walking all the way?"

"Because, Sarah, I sense something has happened with the coming of this unwelcome visitor and wish to see for myself if anything is amiss. Now, no more questions. Just keep quiet and stay close to me."

Well, it made sense, but she still didn't understand what was really going on. The king certainly was not in a mood to divulge. She hoped it was just paranoia and not actually anything dangerous like a ploy of Fiachna's to somehow get to them within Jareth's own realm. Couldn't something just be what it seemed for once? Hoggle could be silly, but would he really be foolish enough to permit a suspicious character into the labyrinth?

Down the stone pathways they walked for another spell of silence, occasional glimpses of other turns and open courts in gaps in the walls on either side: statues pointing the wrong way, tall bushes, or dead ends. Jareth came to another halt in front of a bare wall that towered over them, but in a moment a wide chunk of it began to swing open as if it were a door. Beyond it lay the green hedges of the second phase of the labyrinth.

It was so odd for Sarah to be back and see the familiar scenes of the magical place that haunted her dreams years after she'd visited and had adventures here. It didn't look any different just like Jareth's face wasn't aged a single day more.

Speaking of the infamous Goblin King: that very man rounded on her so suddenly that she nearly ran into him. Of course he didn't mind the close proximity, but he held up a finger to his lips in request for silence. His eyes held her for a few moments before he turned around and confidently took two left turns and then a right. It was as he vaguely described. Reaching up to the height of the trimmed hedge wall were stone steps like one side of a pyramid, a slight sheen to them in the direct sunlight, and a statue at the top sitting in a chair; but the figure looked suspiciously like Jareth with the sharp features and lean build so familiar. It looked like the king when he sat regally on his throne before he relaxed and slouched into a more comfortable position.

On the second broad step sat two dwarfs. Hoggle faced the opening where Sarah and Jareth entered into the squared off space while his companion had his back to them. Hoggle's eyes grew as large as dinner plates, and he began wringing his hands while his mouth parted as if to speak but closed quickly again. His hazel gaze darted between his master and the other dwarf as if wondering if anything could be done to salvage the situation without being immediately tossed into the Bog of Eternal Stench.

Sarah was slightly worried on his behalf and didn't know if he would get out of punishment this time.

The unknown companion turned his head to see what had Hoggle gaping so fearfully. A mop of shaggy black hair hung down to his shoulders, the crags of his face were deeper even than Hoggle's, and his eyes were black like obsidians. A crease of worry formed on his brow when he saw the reason for the other dwarf's consternation.

Jareth stood just in front of the arched hedge opening, a hand on his hip and a gleam of wrath in his eye. His face was hard and his aura like a storm cloud waiting for the precise moment to loose its fury.

And all of it was directed at poor Hoggle.

"Y-your Majesty," he stammered as he leaped to his feet and clutched at his brown leather vest desperately.

"Hoggle," Jareth bit out with careful precision and sharpness, in his anger not forgetting the name, "whatever possessed you to directly disobey me yet again? Is your wish for a punishment so great you will never be the same afterwards? Because that is what will come for you."

"N-no! No, your Majesty! I...I can explain." He motioned towards the darker dwarf. "H-he needed somewhere to rest from his journey a-and I couldn't turn away one of my own kind who just wanted to talk with another dwarf. He don't plan on staying long, I swears. His name's Gerdol. He doesn't mean any harm."

"Doesn't he?" Jareth said in an icily calm voice that sent shivers down Sarah's spine. She could only imagine what it did to Hoggle. He took another step forward and finally regarded the black-haired dwarf with that hard gaze. "You may have fooled this fool here, but I see everything. Strange coincidence you happen to show up here while the lord of the realm is away and try to become bosom companions with its gatekeeper." Another ominous step. "What did the Raven Mage desire for you to accomplish? To find a way inside, to plant some of his magic, or to search out a weakness or flaw that could aid him?"

Gerdol did not cower like Hoggle, but he did hunch a little and stare warily up at the angry Fay. "I'm sorry your Majesty, but I don't know the Raven Mage and wasn't planning to do no harm. Just wanted a bit of rest for these feet. I'm sorry to have displeased you so. I'll leave right away if you wish."

"No," said Jareth with an air of decision. "I have a better plan for you. Both of you."

Sarah placed a hand against the stiff leaves of the hedge beside her instead of going forward like she wanted to and placing it on Jareth's arm in hopes that his fury would abate enough to avoid any rash decisions. She knew Hoggle had made a grave mistake, but she didn't want him injured. What if this Gerdol turned out to be harmless? Then all of this was for nothing. But just in case the dark dwarf was something more, it would do more damage to reveal any connection between her and the Goblin King. Fiachna didn't need any more ammunition as it was.

But what could she do for Hoggle? She could only watch as the scene unfolded.

Gerdol rose to his feet. "Your Majesty, please. Let me just leave and I'll be no more trouble."

In response, Jareth reached out a hand where one of his crystals appeared. They looked so innocent, but one never knew what they might do. That action made Hoggle groan and hide his face while Gerdol finally showed subtle signs of fear.

"No matter what lies you weave," said Jareth, "I will not believe them. I know why you're here. And I will not allow you to leave or to roam free, and so it leaves me with one choice."

The crystal dropped to the ground and rolled towards the dwarfs. Hoggle took a few stumbling steps backward. It reached Gerdol first and slithered into chains of iron that wrapped around his ankles and then his wrists. Some of them lashed out and caught Hoggle as well. Both of them ended up toppling to the ground and struggling against the cold iron that held them at the king's will.

Sarah gave a cry of horror at watching her dear friend be bound in chains. This time she did rush forward, but Jareth's long fingers suddenly gripped her arm.

"No, Sarah. There is a price to be paid for disobedience, a disobedience that could easily have cost your freedom or your life."

With that she could not argue, but her heart ached for the poor dwarf.

"To the dungeons with both of you," Jareth commanded. With one final glance at her, he added, "Remain here. I will return for you shortly."

And with that he released her arm and waved it in the air. All three of them vanished, leaving Sarah alone in the labyrinth. She stared at the empty space their three bodies had just occupied, but none of them returned. She collapsed on one of the steps and pulled her legs up closer to her chest as she waited. It had all happened so quickly, and she still wasn't sure how she felt.

"Oh Hoggle," she whispered to herself as she crossed her arms over her stomach and huddled forward, "what have you done?"

A few minutes passed in which the stillness engulfed her and time seemed to stretch on for hours. It struck her how quiet and lonely a place it was when you were utterly alone. Just as she wondered if she might wander around the area a little, Jareth appeared out of the air in front of the opening in the hedge. The black leather fitted to his body had a dark appeal, but right now all she could think of was the anger inside of him that needed to be doused and quickly.

"Come, Sarah," he spoke. He reached out a hand.

"How long?"

He frowned in confusion at her question.

"How long will you keep him in the dungeons?"

An abrupt sigh burst from his lips, and his hand dropped back to his side. "So are you going to oppose me in my decision now? Tell me how unfair I was?"

She did not miss the edge to his tone. She rose to her feet and felt a renewed boldness. The Goblin King could be fearful at times, but to her he had become a man who was lonely yet powerful, a being full of magic but also of dreams for himself beyond the ones of those around him. And she knew he would never hurt her.

"Jareth," she said softly, "it wasn't unfair. I'm not a child anymore. Hoggle is my friend, but he did do something very dangerous considering what's going on. He didn't know everything that happened with Fiachna, though, and just was told we were all to be extra careful because of another Fay. I'm not sure why he decided to disobey your orders, and it was wrong of him. I just would like to know how long you're going to keep him locked up."

The creases in his forehead smoothed out, and his eyes lightened. "Indeed...you truly are no longer a child." He offered his hand yet again without a word of request this time. Sarah looked at it and walked forward, feeling as though this meant more than a simple joining together of hands. It was as though he tested her yet again in ways she did not fully understand, as though he waited to see if she really would obey him as he asked seven years ago.

When she rested her small white hand in his, he firmly encircled it with his gloved fingers and pulled her through the arch back out into the passages of the labyrinth. Then he released her.

"A hundred years seemed a good enough time to keep him locked away," he said after they began walking side by side between the walls. "Maybe fifty."

Sarah looked at him sharply. "You wouldn't. That is far too—"

"No, it is not. That dwarf could have cost me everything. Rotting in the dungeons is a better fate than he could have hoped. I am not in jest, Sarah, and I mean to keep him there a very long time."

"But that is still far too long!" she insisted as her frustration built up in her chest. "He shouldn't have let Gerdol in, but that doesn't mean you can lock him away for a hundred years.'

"And why not? I don't think you fully understand the consequences of his actions, my dear." He stopped to stare down at her and lean into her space. "That dwarf was sent by Fiachna himself, and if we had not come sooner his work could have been accomplished. What that could mean is either taking you away to the mage, killing you, or bringing destruction to the labyrinth and my entire kingdom. It is no small thing. Even now I am not sure if he already did something that could affect us all...that could affect you."

Sarah stood her ground and crossed her arms over her chest. "I do understand. Really, I do. But there is something else I learned when I was no longer a child: people make mistakes all the time." Her voice lowered. "Even you, Jareth. All I ask for Hoggle is for mercy. When people make mistakes, it's our job to forgive them and have mercy on them because we mess up a lot too."

She knew what she was about to say would most likely upset him, but it had to be said.

"And you, Jareth? Shouldn't you be thrown into the dungeons as well then? Because you put me in danger too, remember. Isn't that why you kept blaming yourself for not protecting me from being hurt by Fiachna's attacks?"

As expected, that hardened his eyes into blue gemstones, and he pursed his thin lips; but he was at least hundreds—if not thousands—of years old and did not throw any kind of fit even though it was clear her words had pierced straight through all his defences. It was like standing on the edge of a cliff wondering if a sudden gale were about to push you over.

But it didn't.

Jareth looked away and turned his shoulder to her. "I will return you to the castle at once."

And with those words she found herself in a moment back in her room with the silver lights, the deep plum linens, and windows looking out over the kingdom. She sighed and sat in one of the windows to look out over the labyrinth where she had just been.

"And here things were going so well," she murmured.

The door opened and Mary came bursting in. Her cheeks were flushed and her breath came heavily as if she had just run through all the castle to get there. She immediately noticed Sarah in the window.

"Sarah!" she cried. "It is good to see you alive and well! There has been quite a to-do in this place, and I was afraid somethin' had happened to ya. The goblins are terrible about rumours and such, so you can't believe a word they say most times, but I had to come see if you were all right. You are all right?"

"Yes, I'm fine," said Sarah, although she didn't turn to look at Mary. "But at the same time I'm not enjoying all the trouble my well-being is causing. My life being in danger has put everyone else in a bad place too. I don't like it."

"Well, you can't help that! Having people who care about you is worth the trouble, you know." The elderly woman put her hands on her hips and watched the young woman with a keen eye. "So that's why they have prisoners in the dungeons? I didn't even think we had dungeons after all these years, but now we do. Who is down there?" Her voice dropped almost to a whisper. "Is it that Raven Mage himself?"

Sarah snorted. "No, definitely not. That creature wouldn't let some prison bars or iron chains hold him, that's for sure, and there would've been a much bigger 'to-do' as you put it. I wish it was though. I'm tired of running from a shadow and having to hide."

"Doesn't matter if you're tired," said Mary. "You just got to do it for your own safety, but also for the safety of others."

"It's my friend Hoggle the dwarf down there. He let another dwarf into the labyrinth and into the Goblin Kingdom without Jareth's permission. Jareth is already on edge after what happened on Midsummer's Eve, so this just pushed him over the edge I'm afraid. Or close to it."

"Ah, I see. I'm sorry, dearie." Mary came forward and put a warm hand on Sarah's shoulder. She patted it. "So this put another wall between the two of ya? You disagreed on the dwarf's punishment?"

"In a way. I don't know what to do. It's just...things were...right."

Sarah drew another deep breath and released it slowly past her rosy pink lips. She ran a hand through her long dark hair, the familiar motion automatic while she got lost in thought. There were important choices to be made in the next few days, and she did not want to go into them without preparation.

Mary tugged at her long grey braid. "Then go make them right again. You two have disagreed before."

Sarah finally turned to look at her, a gleam of hesitance in her green eyes and a bit of blush to her cheeks. "Uh, Mary...he almost kissed me."

"Well why didn't he? Fool man."

"Mary!" the young woman exclaimed. "You...What? I don't think you heard me right..."

"Oh I heard you perfectly well. I'm not that old! It's about time."

Sarah spluttered and couldn't find the proper response. It wasn't at all what she expected Mary to say. "Hoggle is chained up in the dungeons, Mary, and you're worried about him kissing me?"

"It's not about Hoggle. Don't you see? If he's so angry, it's because you were at risk; not to mention his own life and the state of this kingdom. From what I know—which isn't a great deal—he's never had so much that's important all at risk like this before. It's enough to frustrate even an ancient being like a Sidhe."

"I see that," Sarah said as she looked back out the window with a distant gaze, "but it's no excuse for cruelty or losing control. He's right to be angry about the things going on, but I'm just afraid he is taking it out on Hoggle."

"And that's why I'm glad you're here! You balance him out and stand up to him when he needs someone to do it because being a king for hundreds of years can get to your head since you get used to being obeyed even if your judgement's a bit off. He's good, but that doesn't mean he has moments of temper or selfishness."

Something that had been tingling at the back of Sarah's mind unspoken and pushed aside came forward now that she was with another human in this magical world. It was made starkly clear at the Summer Solstice amongst all the immortal Tuatha de Danaan and when the spiteful Seraphina saw fit to degrade her for her mortality.

"Mary…how long have you been here?"

"Oh, lass, it's been a very long time. I've lost track of the exact years, but it's been somethin' about sixty years or so. Or almost sixty. My! Tells me age doesn't it?"

"So you've aged…normally."

"What do you mean?" Mary frowned in confusion. Then the frown smoothed away instantly as it dawned on her. "Oh…I see. You wonder if our kind age any differently in this world. As you can see, it's the same here in the Underground. I…I'm sorry."

Sarah hung her head and clutched at her knees. The news was not surprising but still unwelcome. Her doubts reared their hideous heads up above the other thoughts racing around in her mind, and the decision looming over her every day and night seemed to loom greater. If her life was to be so short in comparison to Jareth's, could she really choose him only to grow old and die in so short a time in his perspective? Would that not break him more than if she chose to leave it all behind to return home? As much as they'd danced around these topics, she knew she would have to ask.

"But," Mary continued softly, "there have been, eh, rumours."

"What sort of rumours?"

"Rumours of the past from other Fey kingdoms that on occasion one of their immortal kind would choose a bride or groom from the Aboveground—our world—and bring them here. It's said that some of them didn't age and had become like their Sidhe spouses, but only the Sidhe themselves know the truth and the secret to those legends. They refuse to allow any other beings to know, especially any from our land."

A faint pulse of hope coursed into Sarah's chest, and she raised her head. Could it be possible? Was there some way to cast off the short years of mortality in this fantastical realm? She'd never desired immortality to avoid the sting of death, but things had changed now that her heart turned to one who would live forever.

"You'd have to ask the Master," said Mary with a shrug. "All I've heard is just rumour."

"Then I guess I will," said Sarah. She slipped off the window sill and brushed off her skirts. "Mary, thanks for listening and for saying what needs to be said. It's good to have counsel like yours in a place like this where there aren't many to talk to. I dearly love my other friends, but they wouldn't quite understand like you do."

She threw her arms around Mary and hugged her tightly. Mary hesitated at first from astonishment but eventually wrapped her arms around the young woman. Tears pricked her eyes after going most of her life without human contact. It brought a sense of release to feel a kind embrace from another.

"Now I'm going to go see Hoggle and see if he's all right," said Sarah as she released the old woman and wore a genuine smile on her face.

"Good. Go and see him. And don't forget to make things right again."

"I won't."

Sarah hurried out of the room and searched for a goblin who could lead her to the dungeons where the prisoners were. It wasn't until she almost reached the throne room and main hall that she ran into one...literally. The little creature had rushed around the corner and smacked into her legs. She gave a small cry as it fell back on its rump with a loud grunt.

"Greit!" she yelled. "I haven't seen you since the first day I came back!"

Sure enough, it was the extremely short goblin with a round belly and large dark eyes. His stubby little fingers tugged at his leather shirt as he craned his head back to look up at her. He seemed shocked to see her.

"Lady! What are you doing down here?" he said with his gruff voice.

"Looking for the dungeons. Do you know where they are?"

Greit glanced from side to side and shrugged his shoulders. "Maybe. Why'd you want to go there? Not very nice down there, not at all."

"My friend is in there. Can you take me?"

The squat goblin scratched his hairy chin and toed the ground as he considered her request. After a long pause, he shrugged again and threw up his hands. "Eh, I guess so. Follow me!"

So just as he'd led her to her room on that first day, he walked at a pace that seemed rather hasty for his stubby legs and brought her to a stairway far from the throne room. He motioned down the steps and waited for her to start descending them, but she stopped to look at him.

"Thank you, Greit. Hopefully I'll see you sooner than before."

If goblins could blush, he certainly would have. He bowed his head, muttered something in return, and scurried away out of sight. Sarah faced the shadowed stairway leading down into the dungeons and began taking them one at a time, her footfalls echoing faintly on the stone. Once she reached the bottom, there was a door with a goblin guarding it: an iron helmet on his head and a spear in his hand. He obviously was surprised to see her since his eyes grew quite large.

"I'm here to visit Hoggle the dwarf," she said with purpose and a raised chin.

"Uh...right. Just through here." The tall goblin opened the door and pointed. "Should be on the left somewhere."

Sarah started when the door closed behind her as soon as she walked through, but she saw the goblin's eyes peering through a small window in the door. Instead of cells with bars and locks, the dungeons seemed to be more unique than that: a few dark oubliettes were in the ground beneath with their yawning black holes the only indication of their existence. Sarah remembered falling into one in the labyrinth and how the encompassing darkness had worried her for a minute until the dwarf showed up with his light. Now if she could do the same for him, she would give so much to do it.

There was only one more to the left. She took one of the torches along the wall and raised it over the entrance of the oubliette. "Hoggle? Are you in here?"

"Sarah?" a hoarse voice called up out of the shadows.

* * *

><p><strong>NOTE:<strong> Hmm, what's the fate of this other dwarf and for Hoggle? Was it really Fiachna? And will Jareth and Sarah work things out? Guess you'll find out next week! I apologise for longer delays lately, but we're getting to the more complex area of the story and I'd rather take more time and do it the best than try to put it up quicker. I'm sure you would all agree :).

Reviews? Reaching 200 would be kinda awesome...


	22. You'll Find Someone True

**A/N: **I profusely apologise to you all for taking SO long to update! I really didn't intend to delay the new chapter for that long, but you'll understand why when you read it, I'm sure :). I wrote it, edited it, then rewrote some of it, then edited it. It's extremely important, so I had to get it right. Plus the holidays were crazy busy, I shot another wedding, I'm preparing Lightroom/Photoshop seminar curriculum for a first-time try, and deep editing stories for publishing. Yep. It's been a wee bit busy around here...

You all have me a little freaked out over the kiss anticipation and expectation. Seriously. I'm really nervous at this point, haha! *deep breath*

You all are amazing and just blow me away with your feedback. I really appreciate all of you so much. Honestly. I'm blown away after every chapter by your responses. My deepest thanks and appreciation to all of you lovely people! Thanks to my reviewers: **XXPay4XtraShippingsXX, The Queen of Water, PheonixBreaker90, CompleteBookworm2, Kaytori, willowrain, ButterflyOnTheWall, Moia Starchild, Redglade, BadWolf49, FallenAngelVamp, ZayZay1221, JigglyJelloWithCoconut, Kinzichi, Kara-lija, Melissa72, KawaiiScorpio,** and** hotforteacher3**.

**FallenAngelVamp:** Thank you! Glad you found the story again :)

**Kara-lija**: Wow! That would be pretty awesome if you did some fanart :). I looked at your page. You do some good work :)

**Melissa72:** Thanks so much! Glad the relationship is realistic but enjoyable. Oo yes, lots on the line now for them all ;)

Go for the plunge! Enjoy this chapter :)

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><p><strong>Chapter Twenty-one: You'll Find Someone True<strong>

**...**

**...**

"Hoggle!" Sarah leaned down further, and the dwarf's outline emerged. He was sitting on the ground with his hand raised against the abrupt light. "Are you all right? I was worried about you."

"Eh! Don't worry about me. I'm a terrible friend, terrible. Hoggle's done a bad thing. Oh he certainly did it this time."

"Hoggle...I forgive you. I don't want you beating yourself up over it from here on. It was a mistake, but we'll move on. Besides, nothing really happened because of it."

A heavy sigh echoed from below followed by some cloth rustling. "Thanks, Sarah. You're a true friend. But until Jareth feels the same way, I'm not gettin' out of here unless he tosses me in the...the Bog. I'm doomed!"

"You're not doomed," Sarah insisted. "When he cools down a bit, I'm sure you'll be out of here and back to it in no time. I tried talking to him and changing his mind, but he was still too upset after all that had happened. I'm sure if I try again..."

"No one can sway Jareth," Hoggle grunted. "He's as likely to change as a rock."

A smile crept onto her lips. "Well, things aren't always what they seem here."

Hoggle lifted his head to look up at her again with a frown of bewilderment. He squinted. "Uh, Sarah? Be careful with him. I don't know what's going on, but he's likely to tie you up in chains you can't see if you're not careful."

"Don't worry about me," she said softly. "He is your king, but to me something entirely different. He treats me like...like an equal. He wouldn't bring any harm to me on purpose, so you don't have to be afraid for me. But right now there is someone who wants to hurt us both, and that dwarf you let in might be working for him, so that's why Jareth got so angry with you. Why did you do it?"

The faint outline of him kicked at the dirt with his shoe. "I haven't seen another dwarf in years I can't even count, and he seemed all right. I asked him all sorts of questions, see, but nothin' seemed off when he talked. You both were gone, and he just wanted to have a chat and some rest. Nothin' wrong with that, I thought, so in he came with me. Oh...what have I done? I messed up again, didn't I?"

"Yes, but stop thinking about it. Just be more careful from now on and do what Jareth tells you when we're telling you about someone dangerous being around."

"Do what Jareth says...Sarah, has he done something to you?" Hoggle struggled to his feet and stretched his neck as far as it could go. "If he has, oh I'll...I'll..."

"No, Hoggle," Sarah sighed. She pushed aside some of her hair and looked down at her friend. "Like I said before, he's helping me. You may not believe me, but he is. You'll have to trust me if you can't bring yourself to trust him. I'm sorry. I have to go now. But I'll come back to see you tomorrow, okay?"

He nodded and slumped back to the ground.

"Here," she said lowering the torch as far as her arm could reach into the hole, "take the light. At least you'll have it for a little while." She dropped it somewhere beside him with a thud.

"Poor Hoggle would be in trouble without you," he said.

She smiled, waved, and backed away from the oubliette. It was time to find Jareth and figure out what was going to happen.

* * *

><p>Gerdol scratched his head and shifted on the ground. He also was in an oubliette in the dungeons, but he noticed that when the Goblin King had tossed him in here he must have added some ward to it after lingering another few moments at the top; especially since he couldn't hear a single sound even though he knew the other dwarf was somewhere nearby. And so in utter darkness and complete silence he sat.<p>

The course of events was not entirely unforeseen or unexpected. It was clear that Fiachna sending him to infiltrate the walls of the kingdom would arouse suspicion and maybe even imprisonment for they knew the blonde king would not just let him go free without trying to get answers from him first. Any who entered the labyrinth never just went free. There was always a price to pay or a test to endure, and now he waited in the dark belly of the castle. It did not bother him much since he had gotten used to darkness. The Raven Mage was not renowned for kindness or mercy.

Convincing the dwarf named Hoggle wasn't very difficult since he was a bit simple-minded and more trusting of his fellow kin. And yet it had pricked Gerdol somewhere deep inside to connive against another dwarf after so many years separated from his kindred or anyone else that mattered. Those distant feelings soon were snuffed out when he envisioned the face of his Master with the eerie golden eyes and dark aura that could lash out at any moment.

There was a job to be done. And Gerdol intended to see it through.

His swarthy hand dug around in one of his pockets and came out fisted around something. Although he could see nothing, he knew exactly what it was for his Master had given it to him with specific instructions.

With a few tosses and flinging of his arm a fine black powder scattered over the ground all around him. A black powder from the very hand of his Master.

His task was done. His Master would be pleased.

Now all he had to do was wait till the Raven Mage arrived.

* * *

><p>The daylight waned, the sun descended, and twilight fell over the Goblin Kingdom. As the sunset blazed bright in the West, stars began to appear one by one against the blue-grey sky between the clouds forming a gradual canopy. The wind shifted and blew now from the North with a crisp chill on its wings and a scent of dampness.<p>

Sarah sat in the Tower reading yet another book of Underground history while the skies grew darker and the air colder. Generally it was fairly warm here since it was summer, but this wind brought a sense of autumn with it as though it were about to rain.

It was here she had been waiting for hours for Jareth to arrive. So far he hadn't shown up and might not for all she knew. She took a long sip of hot black tea and glanced out one of the tall windows where the stars were faint and the clouds growing. It certainly appeared a storm could blow in soon judging by the darkness of the canopy and the scent of the wind. She found herself wondering if storms were the same here as in the Aboveground in her world.

The door opened on creaking hinges.

And so the Goblin King found her with the face-shaped mug warm in her hands and a book lying in her lap.

"I suppose giving you that book really was the most fitting thing I could have done considering your love for reading," he remarked casually.

"What book?" That statement alone set her curiosity afire and gave her a momentary lapse of determination. Did he actually mean...

"The Labyrinth," he said with a smirk. "Did you really think it came to you by mere chance? I didn't write it, mind you, but I did make it for you after seeing you so miserable in that park."

The tea almost slipped from her hands. She gaped at him with her lips parted in pure astonishment. "I can't believe it," she murmured. "That was from you? You said you'd seen me a while before that night I wished Toby away, but...I didn't realise how…how much you were involved in my life. For that long…"

_I will never be free of him_, she thought. _Even if I went home tonight, I would never be free of this man. We've both left such a mark upon each other that will never be erased, and he's entangled his life with mine so much that I don't even know what it would be like if he hadn't. But it seems I keep finding out how he's helped me more than I ever knew when times were hard back at home. _

"Does that trouble you?" he asked as he moved further into the room, the firelight from a few lamps flickering shadows over him and turning his pale skin a warm hue. He was in grey breeches, a white ruffled shirt, and a black leather vest. Of course his black gloves covered his hands as well.

"Oddly enough...no."

"But my choice today troubles you?"

"Partially," she said. "If I could convince you to shorten his time in the oubliette, I'd be less troubled. I saw him earlier and he seemed pretty miserable for more than one reason."

Jareth didn't react harshly like she half-expected. He seemed a lot more resigned than during the morning. "And how long would you leave him in there, Sarah? What do you think would be proper punishment?"

"Oh. Uh...I'm not sure I'm the right one to ask. You know it wouldn't be hardly any time at all."

"I'd like to know."

She tried to think of an answer that he would agree to. "Three nights?"

The only response was a derisive grunt.

"Five?"

A quirk of his arched eyebrow.

"All right, how about seven? That's a week. Don't you think a week in a completely dark, isolated, and small oubliette is enough?"

After a pause, a slow smile spread across his face. "Then seven nights it is for Higgle."

"Hoggle."

"Details," he said with a wave of his hand.

In her heart, she understood that this was his way of apology without speaking the words. He would do as she requested.

"Sarah, there is something I must ask you in light of recent events."

"All right..."

"How much did you tell Fiachna while you thought he was your _friend_?" The word was on his tongue like a bad taste.

She thought about it as she fingered a silver ring of hers on her right hand that Amber had gotten her on her birthday a couple years ago. "Nothing about you or this place of course. Just menial stuff about that life."

"Did he happen to ask you about your dreams in life? Your desires?" Jareth questioned with an intent gleam in his eyes.

Her heart stuttered an instant, and she turned towards him. She suddenly was glad she hadn't answered "Bran" when he did indeed ask that question.

"He did. How did you know? I didn't tell him."

"Good." His shoulders relaxed and he leaned a hand on the large table in the middle of the room scattered with star charts. "If you had, he would have a certain power over you, one that could be extremely dangerous. It is different for him than it is for me, but if you willingly give him the answer, he could manipulate you a great deal. I had to be certain."

"It's so strange to think that he used to be a friend to me," she said quietly. "He's a really good actor. He played the part so well; most of the time anyway."

"He has fooled many of the Sidhe, so do not be ashamed of the deception."

She threw a glance at him out of the corner of her eye. Sometimes she wondered how he understood her so well. No one had ever known her quite so intuitively, not even Amber who was her best friend. It made it difficult to uphold the walls she tried to keep around her heart, the walls that had been built since Christopher and a few years before when she finally saw her mother again in an encounter that dashed any last vestiges of hope that she could have a real mom. She hadn't talked to anyone about it, so she wasn't sure why she wanted to tell Jareth what had happened and how Christopher had broken her heart, an account of all the times someone had betrayed or hurt her throughout life. Maybe because he understood so well about the walls built up around one's heart.

It reminded her of one of her many questions.

"Jareth, what happened to your parents?"

He sighed. "Sarah, I don't think now is the time."

"But it seems to be common knowledge to the Fey and here to people in your world, so why can't I know?" she said as she thought of Queen Ètaìn who had been so kind to her. "Is it really so terrible?"

"It is a tragic tale, nothing more." He subtly pushed away from the table but didn't move forward. "Why do you so stubbornly wish to know?"

"I want to know you better. You're still such a mystery," she answered in a quiet voice, although she refrained from mentioning why she wanted to know _him_.

Ever since those intimate moments on the shores of the lake under a starlit sky, Jareth's allure had transformed into something more than simple physical attraction. The draw was at its greatest, and she didn't know how long she could resist it or if she even desired to. Would they just pretend nothing had happened? Because she wasn't going to have it. But what if he thought _she_ wanted to act as if nothing was happening between them? Her behaviour hadn't exactly been clear since she herself struggled with the barriers set around her heart. Sarah looked upon him and imagined what it would be like.

Sarah thought of her life back in the Aboveground. There were people she loved—her family, Amber, and some other friends—but so much had changed there in the last few years. What made her tremble inside was the silent answer echoing from the greatest depths of her heart to the question she continued to ask herself: did she want to go back home?

That faint whisper of an echo said "no."

There was a sense of belonging here in the Underground, a sense of something more finally laid out before her where she could see it and be a part of it. Her soul felt more at home here than in the world she'd grown up in.

And there was a man here who continued to prove himself someone she could love. Someone she would give up the old life for…

Whatever he planned to say was stopped by a roll of thunder rumbling across the heavens. They both looked out the windows and saw that the clouds had grown even darker and thicker as they filled the sky. Not a star was in sight, but the moon still shone bright through the gloom for a time, lining the black clouds in silver. Sarah set aside her tea and book and rushed to the open windows to see if there was any lightning. Thunderstorms were one of her favourite things.

"You're not afraid of storms. Good."

"So you have a lot of them?" she asked.

"Yes. The summer storms can be the worst."

A thrill ran through her. There was a small balcony over the window ledge where Jareth had said he'd place his telescope in the summer. She swung her legs over and stood out beneath the open sky as the wind slowly burgeoned and the special smell before a rainstorm tickled her nose. Jareth joined her on the balcony even as another peal of thunder roared. A few silent moments passed as they admired the storm headed their way.

"My father was King Taylen," Jareth's soothing voice stilled her thoughts as he began the tale she'd longed to hear. He crossed his arms and looked out over the skies that roiled with black clouds, and a flash of lightning lit his face. "He was a very powerful Fey who was on the Sidhe Court for over a thousand years, but it was when he was still considered of a somewhat young age that he met my mother, Vielenna. Her father was impressed by Taylen, but her brother wasn't so easily charmed and caused some contention amongst them all when they began courting. Eventually my father saved her brother's life when he was attacked by a tribe of our own kindred from the far East who thirst more for blood than most of us. Then he had the approval of all, and so they wed. Their love was of a pure greatness. They had the admiration and respect of thousands of the Tuatha De Danaan all over the Underground for many long years, except for some who were either envious, didn't like anyone in the first place, or were just plain evil. After a while they faded from popular eminence, and it was then my own story began." He paused when he looked over at her. "And no, I did not have brothers or sisters. I could see you were going to ask. I alone was heir to King Taylen, but they did not mind and neither did I. Things are different here than in your world, Sarah, so it will suffice to say that my parents and I had good relations most of the time."

"Most of the time?" She sniffed and rolled her eyes. "If you were from my world, you probably would've been one of those rebellious teenagers wearing leather and black nail polish who defied society and became a loner."

It was clear he didn't fully understand some of the things she referred to, but he got the general idea.

"Continuing on," he said with raised eyebrows directed at her, "a long time passed and the story of my father and mother at last takes its tragic turn. The Sidhe are not all a peaceful people just as humans certainly are not either, and so particular tribes of Fey sometimes fall into war with each other—whether small assemblies or entire kingdoms. It's not as often as in the Aboveground, but it does happen. The last of these battles in recent history was around four hundred years ago—a small amount in our reckoning. Taylen became involved because of a bosom companion who asked his aid, but he was killed in one of the attacks."

Sarah gazed intently upon him just as intently as she listened to the words rolling off his tongue. The only sign of past mourning were lines that formed on his brow.

"When Vielenna heard the tidings, it was not long before her heart gave beneath the anguish. She died as well."

Thunder rattled the shelves and the brass telescope. The storm was moving slowly, yet it was moving straight for the Goblin Kingdom with its coiling arms and terrible roaring. The sounds and flashes of its fury punctuated the grief of the story now unfolded before Sarah. She had no words to say since she knew they would avail nothing, so she reached out to place a hand on his arm. The white linen was cool to the touch even though her fingers felt the warmth of his skin beneath.

Jareth glanced down at her. "You need not worry. What is passed is passed."

Sarah frowned. Again she felt her own youth and inexperience as he showed great wisdom for she herself hadn't dealt with certain affairs in the past, the very ones that had been on her mind before he told the story. "You know what. You're right. You've learned to move on and accept things the way they've happened because nothing can change the past. I've let people affect me in ways they shouldn't because I've let the past chain me up."

"And who might that be?"

Lightning forked across the sky followed a few seconds later by more thunder, this time a little closer.

"Last night I talked about my mom and how she wasn't the mom I wanted. I started learning and getting better about our relationship. My heart really was healing. And then there was Christopher. We were..." At the sharp expression on his face, she stumbled with her words to find the right term. "He was my boyfriend—uh, a lover I guess you would say here—for a long time and I thought we were in love; but he wasn't. At least not towards the end. I'd poured out so much into him and given him my heart, but he left me for someone else so suddenly. Since he was the first real relationship I'd had, it hurt so much. I trusted him. It was like my mom leaving all over again, but in a new kind of heartbreak I hadn't felt. I immediately built up all sorts of walls around my heart so that no one else could betray it like that again, but of course that never works out in the end. You just go down a dark path with a cold, hard heart." She looked him in the eye and glimpsed a spark of emotion that she hoped to see. He did understand. Perhaps she had done that very thing to him those seven years gone right after scaling those imposing walls of stone he'd set about himself both physically and emotionally.

"He didn't deserve you," Jareth murmured in his smooth, charming tones that set her on alert. "What a fool! Only a ridiculous boy would give away a treasure of such value."

And in her mind she heard him singing the words from Midsummer's Eve when they stood alone under a crystal moon:

_Down in the Underground,_

_you'll find someone true_.

Her body began to tremble a little. They were here alone again with masks and pretences stripped away. The storm raged outside, but another storm was raging within the Tower as the seconds ticked away.

Seven years later, Jareth the Goblin King still waited for her love. He was someone true.

He had been ever patient, ever persistent, and ever faithful even to only a memory and a faint hope of return. It was more than she could have dreamed from any man. Maybe the Goblin King truly had become the man of her dreams...

Telling her his parents' story had been an unspoken vulnerable divulgement. In response, she had bared herself to him, also with an unspoken statement: I walled up my heart, but not anymore.

Sarah's heart leaped to her throat when she noticed his pale eyes watching her keenly. Without another moment's hesitation, he moved away from his side of the balcony and came near to hers. Her breath caught when he leaned his arm on the wall behind her in a casual posture reminiscent of her first time in the labyrinth in the tunnel with Hoggle. That same smirk graced his lips as he leaned close.

"And how are you liking my labyrinth _this_ time, Sarah?"

What she would have liked to say was, 'I'm not sure since there's an evil mage after me wanting to kill or torture me,' but what actually came through her muddled thoughts was a whisper of, "It's still a piece of cake."

His smirk grew wider into a smile.

They were barely a foot apart. Although it was rather dark, the firelight from the window cast one half of him in warm light and the other was bathed in cold shadow occasionally lit with white from the lightning streaking through the clouds. It was like the two sides of the Goblin King: one almost caring and warm and the other harsh and cold. They called him the Lord of Music and Mischief. How well it fit him: a heart of great depth but a character full of mischievousness that could do harm. And with one face aquiline and sharply sculpted with the perfection of a statue for he was not only a man but one of the Sidhe of myth and legends.

Dangerous. But caring. No longer dangerous for her.

His warm breath softly touched her skin as he leaned toward her. He lifted a hand to finger a tendril of her shadowy hair and caressed the soft skin of her face with his eyes. Although the thunderstorm grew louder, Sarah couldn't hear the rolling thunder over the pounding of her heart. Neither could she feel the cold wind whipping at the folds of her dress but only the heat creeping upon her skin as her cheeks turned the shade of a rose.

The storm rolled in directly over the labyrinth. Thunder rumbled with a loud crash.

And Jareth finally stopped teasing, closed across the gap, and pressed his lips to hers.

* * *

><p><strong>NOTE:<strong> *silence*

You know what to do...


	23. I'll Paint You Mornings of Gold

**A/N: **FINALLY**.** So I've been having computer problems...It's not even a year old, but it's something to do with the registry or whatnot. But I've managed to get it working okay and get up this chapter at last!

Glad you all enjoyed the moment we've all been waiting for ;). LOVED all the ranges of responses from you guys! Haha. I'm excited to get to some action and adventure, but I thought our couple deserved some much needed downtime and ROMANCE after all they've been through. Fiachna can go eat rocks for a while...

Enjoy!

**Jill:** Hope that twitch hasn't developed into anything serious...:D I didn't post soon at all, but I do apologise! Hopefully it'll work out sooner from now on :)

**Avulgarism:** Thank you so very much! It's a huge compliment when a reader is willing to sit and read all the chapters at once :). So glad you're along for the journey! And even more encouraged to know the character development has turned out well. Thanks!

**Guest:** Yikes, I hope those feels haven't done you in, my friend. They can be a powerful thing, those feels...Sorry it took so long! Hopefully my computer will behave from now on...But I'm so thankful you're really enjoying the story!

**Elisabeth S**: Ah, you melt my heart :). If a girl can't get all silly and excited over a love story, it's just not a good one, so it puts a huge smile on my face to know that long-awaited kiss has done it's work ;). Thank you so very much!

Heartfelt thanks and gratitude to my reviewers who helped me reach 200 reviews: **Kaytori, The Queen of Water, XXPay4XtraShippingsXX, ButterflyOnTheWall, willowrain, She with the hazel eyez, DaniellaPeirce, BadWolf49, JigglyJelloWithCoconut, PheonixBreaker90, Kinzichi, hisangel18, Elisabeth S, Guest, 3, Alexandria Keating, Avulgarism, Jill,** and** CompleteBookworm2**.

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><p><strong>Chapter Twenty-two: I'll Paint You Mornings of Gold<strong>

**...**

**...**

Jareth drowned in the intoxication of Sarah's essence wrapped all around him. Her silken hair still draped over his fingers, and her fresh and sweet fragrance tickled his senses. At last the restraints holding him from her broke away and he could do what he'd wanted to since a young girl proved his equal when she defeated him and his labyrinth. His kiss was neither light nor severe but softly passionate. He wanted no other. Only Sarah.

It was only for a moment, but it passed as a lifetime of bliss. Jareth pulled back from her full lips and looked down at her, only inches away with eyes still closed and long dark lashes still fanned out on her alabaster skin. Her breath came deeply.

His hand moved from her hair to the softness of her skin at the base of her throat. Her green eyes opened and stared up into his with wonder.

As desperately as he wished to continue to coax affection from that rosy mouth, he knew once might be all he could have this night. A kiss was stolen, but it was a heart he longed to steal most of all.

She leaned heavily against the wall behind her as she stared wordlessly but with so much being said with her eyes. The corner of his mouth turned up at her completely flustered appearance.

Before either could speak a word or move even an inch closer or farther apart, a rather close bolt of lightning tore through the night air and struck the ground somewhere outside the castle grounds. A great noise that sounded suspiciously like thunder crashed at the same instant, but clearly it was something more than a voice of the storm.

Jareth internally battled within for a few moments. He desired to continue whatever was happening between him and Sarah, but with his power he could sense that the lightning had done some sort of damage. He released a resigned breath. Apparently this storm was not just natural but yet another one caused by some wrath of Dracon Forthey who dwelt a hundred miles to the North of the Goblin Kingdom. The man really had to learn to better control himself to avoid the odd weather caused by his extreme moods.

"I have to see to my labyrinth," he said in a quiet voice that he wasn't used to using.

Sarah didn't respond at first. With that soulful gaze she swept his face and searched his mismatched eyes until she finally nodded in acquiescence. With extreme reluctance, he pulled his arm from the wall behind her and straightened. Without turning from her luminous face and bright eyes, he took a few steps back ready to transport himself directly to the place he could feel the disturbance.

"Wait!" she called with an outstretched hand. "Take me with you."

For a moment he considered her request. There would be nothing she could do to help, but practicality drowned in the great waters of his desire to not be parted from her. Without a reply, he took her hand and accepted her plea. If Sarah didn't wish to leave his side, what fool would he be to deny her?

Although she remained with him, the interruption still felt like a thorn burrowed in his side.

His frustration nearly caused him to use great portions of magic to dissipate the black clouds above, but he calmed his vexation and focused on the task at hand. The lightning had struck a portion of the wall surrounding the Goblin City and it was here they found themselves. Some of the goblins ran about in panic for the unnatural bolt had destroyed the wall in an explosion of stone. When the creatures finally noticed their king, their panicked yelling and scrambling ceased. They called out to him or simply watched as he formed crystals in his palm that turned into solid stones built up in place of the ones now crumbled on the ground. The hole spanned about twenty feet.

He did not even need to look to know how intently Sarah watched him in his work. He could feel her mystical eyes on him. Perhaps it was well for the girl to see the importance of his creation and how careful he was in its keeping. He took care of what belonged to him.

The King of the Goblins could have left the work until a better time, but his duty pressed hard upon him for the risk that even a simple gap in one wall could prove with such a vengeful enemy on the loose. The labyrinth and the city had a particular magic of their own after being built by his own hands. He preferred everything well and intact during these days.

Just as he came close to finishing repairing the wall and the goblins had dispersed back into their shanties, another bolt of lightning struck a good distance away with another path of destruction: it had landed somewhere in the forest. He could sense another threat. Sure enough, wisps of smoke rose into the air as a fire ignited in the trees.

Jareth bent to pick up a piece of the old stone that had broken to the ground. Its surface was mostly smooth with a touch of rough texture that he remembered and knew more than felt with his own hands. It crumbled to dust in his palm and floated away on the wind.

"And so you shall be, Fiachna, when I have dealt with you."

* * *

><p>He was a majestic vision standing with his head held high as the wind and rain whirled around him and the thunder growled in the roiling clouds above. The rain did not touch the mighty king as if a barrier encased him from getting wet. Sarah's breath caught in her throat as she watched him form building stones with his own hands as the storm rallied against him. But as with any other challenge in his path, he pushed ahead with stubborn perseverance.<p>

The gap filled up stone by stone as he lifted them through the air to place them where they belonged. She found an odd sense of peace standing there even though the rain pattered against her skin and the wind cut through the cloth of her clothes because of the awe of observing the Goblin King performing such magical feats. Guys had tried to impress her without much luck back in her other life, but Jareth continued to impress her on a regular basis.

Just as he began to fully repair the wall, lightning hit in the forest with a loud crack, and a faint stream of smoke rose up. She wiped the wet hair out of her face and watched to see what Jareth would do. He glanced towards the forest then back at the stone in front of him. He bent and lifted one into his hand, but in an instant it turned to dust and floated away. His mouth moved in words she could not hear over the voice of the storm.

And with those words he turned and looked her in the eye over the distance between. Instead of grasping her hand as he usually did, he just took them both with his power to the next place. It was less wet under the cover of the trees, but a small fire burned a red path along a few of their trunks and branches. Jareth lifted his hands into the air as a crystal appeared. It grew larger and rose up above the fire.

A loud crack resounded through the air. Sarah startled since it sounded somewhere over her head. She looked up and screamed as a giant branch burning with hot flame fell straight for her.

A strong arm wrapped around her waist. Her own arms came up to cover her head but instead clutched to the solid figure that had encircled her. They moved instantly.

The burning bough fell with a crash to the ground only a few feet from where they stood. Sarah's eyes flew open, and she looked up at her rescuer. His mismatched eyes moved from the place she'd just occupied back to her face. The corner of his dignified mouth turned up a little, and a flash of mischief appeared in his eye. His arm tightened around her waist so that there was no space between them.

If a fire hadn't been blazing beside them, things certainly would have gone differently, but Jareth still had work to do. Although he had drawn close enough their noses almost brushed, he released her and continued using air and water to put out the flames. With a swish of his hand an entire tree was freed with a whirl of air. The large crystal that had hung in the air released a wave of water.

In a few minutes the fire was gone and only curls of silver smoke were left.

Sarah breathed a sigh of relief. The forest certainly had a lot of strange and intense memories for her, most of them not so great. And it was then that weariness washed over as her adrenaline settled back to normal. Her eyes felt heavy, and her focus wandered all over.

Until Jareth suddenly was close again. "That is enough. You are tired. I'm going to take you back for there is still more to be done."

"I think I could manage—"

"No protesting, Sarah," he said with a smirk. His hand gently rested at her waist, and she swallowed a lump in her throat. "You cannot help me anyway, so it is better one of us gets some rest tonight. I would prefer it was you."

She gave him a smirk of her own in response. "I'll try, but I'm not so sure I'll be able to sleep."

His other hand came to the other side of her waist so that she was encased between his arms. Their surroundings shifted and she recognised her personal quarters around them instead of trees.

"I am not yet sure of the storm's damage," said Jareth. "But it will cause no great harm. No need to worry." His hands slowly dropped from her. "I will see you on the morrow when my work is done. I must return."

She nodded and gave him a faint smile since there wasn't anything she could think to say in a moment like this.

As soon as Jareth disappeared, Sarah slumped against the wall. It took a long while for her heart to calm down and run at a normal pace, but no amount of time would ease the emotions stirring up there.

The press of his lips. The caress of his fingers in her hair. The soft warmth of his breath on her skin.

The kiss had been but a few moments, but so much had been spoken through it than words could have. Jareth had captured her mouth to once again say, "Just fear me, love me, do as I say, and I will be your slave."

And with her response she had basically said, "Yes."

With trembling fingertips she touched her mouth. The memory was one stronger than any of the others. She and the Goblin King had shared an intimate kiss. Once, that would've been a wild thought and only part of her active imagination, but now it was real. All of it was real.

And she didn't regret it.

_I'm in so much trouble..._

_Or am I in love?_

If she wasn't already, she was well on her way. The more she considered, the more she realised how much she was willing to sacrifice to be with Jareth the King of the Goblins. Although she loved her friends and family, she would give up that life in the Aboveground for one here at the side of her mischievous king in a world that felt like home and a place she would belong.

Maybe it was because he felt like home to a heart that had been searching.

Sarah closed her eyes as the wind swept past her and toyed with strands of her dark hair. Everything was about to change.

The deep breath before the plunge.

* * *

><p>The worst of the storm had passed in a little while as it moved on and dissipated far outside the realm of the Goblin Kingdom. The strange lightning had left a few places damaged in its wake, but nothing else happened during the chaos even though Sarah wondered if Fiachna would use the distraction to try to get in. But he didn't, and Jareth tended to all that needed to be done. When she awoke from sleep, she was in her own bed with draperies of purple and gold around her.<p>

What stirred her from fitful slumber was the flapping of wings and a cooing noise. Her eyes fluttered open. She rolled over to see what the source of the sound was.

There in the window perched a tan and white barn owl with the stem of a flower in its beak watching her with dark eyes. She knew it was him. The bird was a familiar one after seeing it in the park sometimes, the night all her adventures began, and later in the vision warning her against Bran.

Sarah smiled and sat up. She ran a hand through her long tresses of shadow and rested her elbows on her knees.

Once she did, the owl flew from the window to the other side of the bed where it landed and dropped the flower on the pillow beside Sarah. With a radiant smile still on her lips, she reached out to pick it up. It was unlike any flower she'd ever seen in her world. Its petals were like velvet gold with pale streaks in the centre and its shape was somewhere a mixture of a lily and a dahlia.

Just as she was about to smell it, she hesitated and looked at the owl—which was Jareth. "It's not going to do something to me like the nightdream is it?"

The barn owl fluttered its wings and made a motion with its head like it was shaking it. She laughed and smelled the fresh fragrance of the golden flower. It refreshed her senses and lingered around her like sweet perfume.

"Thank you," she said and reached out a hand.

The large bird nuzzled her hand as it stepped closer. His feathers were soft to her touch, and she smiled yet again. Jareth was much less intimidating looking like a cute, cuddly owl. Then she realised she could almost feel something in the air, like a soft tingling sensation on her skin and a prick in the back of her mind. She stared at the bird while she held the flower in her hand and thought that there was a faint shift in its appearance.

Then it dawned on her.

"Oh no you don't!" Sarah scolded. She held up a warning finger. "Not while you're here on my bed! This form is fine, but don't you dare change right now or you'll get booted out before you're even done shape-shifting."

The odd feeling in the air disintegrated, and she breathed a sigh of relief. The owl raised its wings, squawked, and walked to the edge of the bed after receiving a satisfied smirk from her. He could be a sneaky fellow, but she could play the game just as well. Before Jareth lifted off and flew away, she made sure he knew that his efforts hadn't been in vain.

"Thank you. The flower is absolutely beautiful," she said with a light in her eyes that spoke more than words.

The dark eyes of the bird regarded her a moment, then with a nod of its head it leaped off and out the window it had entered by. The flap of its broad wings soon faded away. As Sarah lifted the gold flower to her nose again, she guessed that she would be grinning like an idiot the rest of the day.

_Can I really be so lucky?_ she thought as she inhaled the fragrant scent and remembered the softly passionate kiss of the night before. _Could I really have this...forever?_

* * *

><p>Sarah visited Hoggle a little later with food and more light. He was glad of the company as much as the gifts she brought with her after being utterly secluded in the dark all night. A little prick of guilt pierced her heart thinking about what she'd been doing while he suffered down here.<p>

"How long is he gonna' leave me in this black hole?" asked Hoggle.

"You know what? He wasn't as stubborn as you thought, so I got him to give you considerably less time than he planned. It's more than I would've done, of course, but it's a lot better. Seven nights. You'll only be here a week."

"A week?" the dwarf exclaimed. A groan echoed up out of the pit. "Even one or two days would be bad enough."

"Just be thankful it's only that. Or would you rather go into the Bog?" she teased. "This actually might be merciful in some weird way. I'm actually really surprised you're not off alone cursed by that awful smell after being thrown in."

"Yeah, well either way it don't appeal to me. And I'm not thanking him for anything!"

Sarah leaned her head over. "Not me either? I did bargain for a shorter time, you know."

"Eh...uh, thanks Sarah. I owe you one."

She smiled at his pretend gruffness and scratched at the grubby rock beneath her. "So did that dwarf—Gerdol wasn't it?—did he say anything about where he came from? Anything that could be important?"

"Not anything truthful, I'd guess," said Hoggle. "Nothing specific except the name. It might not even be his real one!"

"I guess not." She sighed and stared at the wall in front of her. With all that Jareth had been occupied with, it didn't seem as though there was enough time for him to have talked to the dark dwarf somewhere imprisoned here in one of the oubliettes. She imagined he would be able to pry information out of him if anyone could, but the thought was unsettling all the same. But if it meant finding Fiachna and destroying him before he could attack or do anymore damage, it was worth a try.

"Sarah. Don't mean to pry, but I was wondering...wondering if you're going to leave again. Back to your world, I mean."

"Oh. I don't know yet. Um...I think I do, but I'm still not positive. Hoggle, can you keep a secret?"

"Course I can. What is it?"

She drew a deep breath. It wasn't a good time to tell him about her quickly shifting relationship with the Goblin King whom he feared, but she owed him at least some of the truth. "It's very possible that I'll be staying here. Indefinitely."

Silence met her. A slight shuffling rose up, but that was it.

"Hoggle?" she asked as she leaned down to look in. Below in the oubliette she saw the dwarf sitting on the ground with the lamp she'd let down at his feet, a golden halo of light pooled around him and encroaching upon the shadows that reached out to consume his small frame.

He glanced up. "You'd do that? You'd really stay?"

"Yes, I would," she said softly.

"But why?"

How much to tell him? How to tell him without revealing the centre of it all? "There are people here that I love. This world is beautiful and full of adventure. My world is too, but it feels like...like I was made for this one instead."

The frown on his craggy features was easy to read, and it showed his confusion and suspicion. He sensed the presence of something more that was unsaid.

"Please don't say anything to anyone else yet though," she pleaded. "Not until this has all blown over and the one who's put us all in danger is gone. Everything waits on him. It's just a matter of time."

"Well, we gots lots of that now don't we?"

Sarah turned her head away. "Maybe. I'm not so sure."

* * *

><p>After failing to find Jareth in the throne room—only goblins getting into mischief and mayhem—or in the Chamber of the Stars, Sarah gave up and decided to wait for him to make his appearance at whatever moment he chose. He had a talent for materialising at the oddest or most unexpected times.<p>

Lately she'd made a request for variety in her wardrobe, so instead of all dresses, now there was a pile of shirts and breeches not all that dissimilar to the ones the Goblin King wore most of the time. Her pants were not quite as tight, of course, but they were fitted almost like her faithful old jeans that had been forgotten and the green shirt she wore was laced at the waist with black ribbons. At first she felt like a pirate or some buccaneer, but there was a quality to the clothes not fashioned by anyone in the Aboveground that rid them of any tackiness. It was nice to be in pants again as well since she hoped to do some more exploring today to try to get a certain someone off her mind for a while.

Where she found herself in only a few minutes was the outer walls of the castle. Goblins patrolled the gates and the walls doubly since the threat of Fiachna surfaced, but they all knew that Sarah was a guest of their king and not to be harassed. That didn't stop them from staring or whispering as she passed by though. Some even saluted her or stumbled over themselves trying to sweep some sort of bow. She hid her smile as best she could at their thoughtful efforts and gave them all a gracious greeting.

Her black boots thudded on the stone steps as she climbed to the top of the wall not far from the large gates to the castle where her and her friends once battled a giant goblin machine. The goblins on duty eyed her with interest while maintaining their vigil—at least to some degree considering some of them were dicing and placing bets. The creatures weren't ever exactly the most reliable. It was incredible Jareth had them in any semblance of order and command in the first place. However, if nothing more, they never failed to amuse.

The wind whipped at her blouse and her partially-braided hair, a cool caress under the heat of the glaring sun. The only vestiges of the evening storm were the memories and perhaps a few singed treetops somewhere in the dark forest.

Sarah stood atop the wall enjoying the vast expanse laid out before her eager eyes. A curious itch still niggled at the back of her mind to re-enter the ways of the labyrinth for there was so much more to it than even she had seen. What other mysteries and adventures waited in its twists, turns, and traps? After encountering that odd fox-like bird, it became clear that there were more peculiar creatures than she imagined; and it was also likely to have more spectacles to arouse intrigue like the various doors leading either to doom or the destination.

But Jareth still hadn't lifted the ban, and after trying to be eaten by the winged beast then falling unconscious simply by smelling the wrong flower, it didn't seem quite so binding. She decided to ask him if they could explore it together.

The idea sent a tingle down her spine. Yes, she definitely would love to get lost in the labyrinth with its maker. Not a bad idea at all.

"My lady!"

Sarah looked down at where the voice hailed from. The courageous fox who lived on the edges of the Bog of Eternal Stench stood down outside the castle walls with his neck craned back. He waved his hat at her and swept a bow, his loyal dog Ambrosis standing at his side.

"Sir Didymus," she called with a wave of her hand. "How are you?"

"Quite well, my lady. It is a fine morning, is it not?"

Her cheeks turned quite pink as her thoughts wandered back to how she had woken up that morning. The golden flower sat in a silver vase by the bed still. "Uh, yes. It really is. What are you doing out here?"

"There was word of some commotion last night from that wretched storm. Those ones usually do cause a raucous when they pass by."

"Those ones? You get that kind often?"

"On occasion. Word is that some being from another realm nearby has terrible emotional fits that affect the weather. Unfortunately we get it over here at times. Just the storms, I think, since they travel furthest. I hope you are not harmed?"

"Oh no, I'm fine. Thanks for asking," she said with a smile. "I'm pretty protected here at the castle." _With more than walls and fortress doors_…

The same owl that visited her that morning swept up into the wind from the depths of the labyrinth. Its cream-coloured wings beat the air towards the Goblin City, and Sarah's heart beat in time with them as he grew close. They hadn't spoken or seen each other face to face—as humans anyway—since the night before, and her chest ached with anticipation. He wouldn't regret it would he? She certainly didn't. For the first time, she felt sure about her feelings for him and would not deny that she was falling in love. Now that she had made her choice to risk her heart for him, she wanted nothing more than to spend as much time as possible in his presence.

Who knew how long they had together? The future was so uncertain…

Sir Didymus noticed how her intent gaze looked to the horizon, so he turned his head to see what had captured her attention. Very few knew the bird-like form their master took, so he grew more confused by her behaviour.

"My lady? What is it?" he called up to her.

"Something wonderful," she said.

"Really? It looks like a bird to me…"

"It was great to see you, friend, but I'm—"

Her words cut off when the pale owl reached the wall and drew up his wings to pull to a stop over her head. She hastily moved out of the way to avoid him landing on her. Her worry was needless since he made sure to aim to the right of her and clicked his claws on the stone surface as he settled. His feathers were a bit ruffled from his hasty flight, and those large dark eyes peered down at the fox with a look that she swore was contempt. Although he was an owl at the moment, his expression managed to sift through.

"Goodbye, Sir Didymus!" she called quickly. "I've got to go now. I'll see you soon?"

"I certainly hope so, my lady." He swept off his hat yet again and threw it back on his head. Even as he did so, his eyes grew wide as the owl transformed into a tall, dark figure with familiar features. Since the Goblin King looked directly at him, he made another hasty bow. "Your Majesty."

With a bewildered glance between the two, he was off at a quick pace. If Sarah had been aware of anything except the magnificent figure beside her, she would have noticed the slow understanding dawning in the fox's warm eyes.

And then a pair of mismatched blue eyes turned to her, and everything else faded away completely.

Neither had words. Sarah waited with bated breath for his reaction while Jareth basked in newfound revelation: as faint as he could sense them, her dreams had aligned with his own and the powerful surge of feeling that rushed through him at that realisation overwhelmed any formation of words.

After an eternity of anticipation, he reached out to touch her face. He stopped, his hand hanging in the air. When he pulled it back, the confusion and hurt in her eyes seared his heart; but it was not to last long. Holding her gaze, he began tugging at the leather encasing his hands, and one after the other his gloves came off. Sarah watched in amazement as he raised a hand simply of flesh and blood to do what he'd originally intended. The pale, elegant fingers brushed her skin along her jaw. It was only the second time he'd let his skin come into direct contact with hers, the first time when she was asleep and unaware, but this time she was highly cognisant of each moment his fingertips lingered on the softness of her face.

She swallowed hard. The meaning was not missed. This was the first time she had seen him without gloves.

With a trembling hand, she reached up and covered his as it stilled at her jawline. His hands were as pale as the rest of his skin, long, thin, and graceful; like the hands of an artist but with many years of experience.

He tore his eyes away to glance from side to side. Goblins rummaged around, some with their eyes staring wide-eyed at the pair who hardly had been in the public eye together. His other hand came to settle firmly at her waist.

"Come. There are too many eyes here…"

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><p><strong>NOTE:<strong> Hope all of you dear, wonderful readers are enjoying the bloom of love :). I am! I'm so happy to be at this point. Hopefully I'll be able to get the next chapter up soon too! Do review and let me know what you're thinking of this new romance!


	24. I'll Spin You Valentine Evenings

**A/N: **You guys blow me away with your responses! Truly. You are all so amazing and kind!

Oo, you get a fairly long chapter yet again! I hope it's not too fluffy. I'm a little concerned about it...Eh, oh well! I strayed with a little more creativity again, so I'm curious to see the responses, but do enjoy.

**Elisabeth** **S**: Yes, I really don't like the exaggerated 'fluff' or lovey-doveyness as you put it :P. I may have entered that territory with this chapter though, lol. Uh oh...See! I knew all you guys were probably thinking "when is that story going to be updated?" so I got my rear in gear and did it :D. Hope this chapter puts a grin on all our faces too!

**Shobgoblin:** Ah, thank you! I was really trying to balance the romance, so it's good to hear from you and others that it worked out well :). Such fun to write too! The solution to the immortality issue is hinted at again here, but it certainly will be cleared up in time. Eventually, haha. Thanks!

**Random person:** Love your anonymous name by the way, lol. Since you reviewed chapter 5, you may not get this for a while or ever, but thank you so much for your review! I am very particular about everything making sense, fitting perfectly with the original story, and that the characters are still the same from canon; so I'm so encouraged to hear from so many of you that I pulled that off. Celebrate!

To all you lovelies who take time to respond to the story (you're a huge blessing): **The Queen of Water, Jeni27, PheonixBreaker90, Guest, Jill, She with the hazel eyez, Kinzichi, Silver Rose514, XXPay4XtraShippingsXX, Elisabeth S, hisangel18, PoisonIvy533, willowrain, ButterflyOnTheWall, Sunshinekatie1996, Shobgoblin, Kaytori, nortega, Random person,** and** Chaos Aroura**.

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><p><strong>Chapter Twenty-Three: I'll Spin You Valentine Evenings<strong>

**...**

**...**

After removing themselves from watchful eyes, Jareth and Sarah magically shifted to the edge of the forest. Sarah blinked and looked around, still not used to the odd transition, but the hold Jareth still had on her waist kept distractions at minimum. It was a different part of the forest than she recognised in a place far from the unsightly junkyard scattered outside the city walls. Green moss grew in patches all over the rocks and emerald ivy crawled along trees and their branches with small white flowers dotted like stars amidst the leaves. Sunlight fell in soft beams to the ground where odd mushrooms sprouted in blue and orange. The faint outline of a path wove its way deeper into the wood, and this is where Jareth began to lead her.

The forest had no fear for Sarah when the Goblin King was with her. It was always magical and lovely, but today it had no hidden worries.

"You know, I don't think I can handle the silence anymore," she burst out after a few minutes. "I really enjoy your company but, ugh, there's just so much to say and so much I'm feeling and so much—"

"Sarah," he said in a quiet voice as he slowed to a stop. He lifted a finger to her lips. "I know. I haven't waited all these years for just one kiss from your lips." He tilted her chin up with the tip of his finger. "Today I intend to discover if the wait was worth it or in vain. There is a place I will show you here deep in the forest, and while we walk there, I'd like you to consider that thought, not with the mind of a mortal being whose life is brief in our eyes but with the mind of one who has a long life to live."

Sarah's chest tightened. A weight rested heavy on her shoulders. The feelings were so fresh that she hardly considered the long-term consequences except for the question of returning to her own world. As Jareth placed a light hand on her back to continue urging her along the path, her mind raced with a great many notions once shadowed. He was immortal. She was not. If she chose to accept the offer he once had given, what would become of her?

_Mary…Mary is growing old just like in our world. Would I be any different? But he made it sound like…like my life would become like his. I think I get it! He wants me to consider the consequences of forever because that's what it would be. Is that possible? Is this really happening? _

She became so consumed by her thoughts that she forgot how much time passed as they walked. It could have been an hour, maybe two. She couldn't remember. But Jareth had slowed the pace at last and looked deep into the trees. Sarah squinted to see what it was glistening between the trunks of the trees standing alongside the rarely-used path.

"What is it?" she asked softly.

"Come and see."

The closer they came, the more the scene unfolded before their eyes and the mystery cleared like a fog under the sun. What glistened through the wood was water catching the sunlight. The ground rose up before them, and a waterfall tumbled down from the high ground into a pool below where the rocks shone with a soft sheen of glittering specks much like the walls of the first round of the labyrinth, but more silver than bronze. The water was purely crystalline and yet when the sun hit it, rainbows of colour shimmered in its depths and in the air. It was unlike anything she had ever seen.

"Listen," said Jareth in a whisper. He drew her closer to the bright waters.

The more she listened, the less it sounded like rushing waters tumbling onto rocks but more like music faintly laced beneath the sound. She hurried forward through the green and yellow ferns in hopes that there might be words to the song sung by the moving waters. When it was only ten feet away, her breath even quieted to better listen.

Sure enough, the hauntingly lovely music seemed to have lyrics sung with an unearthly voice low and slow. It was another few minutes before she understood some of them, and this was all she caught:

_Live without your sunlight,_

_Love without your heartbeat._

_I can't live within you._

_I can't live…within…you._

They were not unknown to her. How could she forget those words? Jareth sang those very lines as she fought to reach Toby in those last moments before the time was up. For so long she didn't pay them any heed because it was just too much, but now she saw the heart that formed the words and desperate pleas for understanding.

Just behind her stood Jareth in a white shirt and grey pants, no gloves covering his hands anymore. As soon as her green eyes met his, he moved to stand beside her and gestured at the waterfall.

"This is no ordinary water. It springs out of the rock not far from here just as it has for thousands of years. Sarah, this is where the labyrinth all began."

Her lips parted a little in astonishment as her eyes grazed over the colours flashing in varied hues in the otherwise clear depths.

"A very long time ago this was barely a kingdom, a land where the goblins dwelt and lived without order beyond their base concepts of living. It was a desert. Just as it is outside the walls of my kingdom." He closed his eyes as if watching the memories play before him. "No one wanted it. The Sidhe are a finicky race at times but also often quite vain. Who would want to rule a place like this with goblins as subjects?" A slow grin showed his pointed teeth as his eyes popped open. "I never was very apt to follow everyone's expectations. Except yours, of course."

Sarah flushed and gently grasped his sleeve as he continued.

"One day I visited this barren land and found it wasn't as barren as told. This is what I stumbled upon: these waters springing up out of the desert. The goblins are cast off creatures, but I found they weren't as terrible as expected. They are rather pitiful really. They needed someone to rule them, to bring some semblance of order here. This place enchanted me seeing as I've ever been a Fay belonging to music. And so I built up the labyrinth and this realm all around it. As I said, these are no ordinary waters, dear Sarah." He swept a hand over them. "Not only do they behave like crystals, but as you have heard, they have a voice unlike any waters you may ever hear for they mimic and resound what is spoken or sung clearly within their hearing."

It only took Sarah a moment to connect it all. "You came here and sang the song that you once sang to me when I was first in the Underground. Before…before I left…"

"Yes. They've echoed that song for years." Jareth turned to face her with mere inches between them. "Sarah, there is a reason I brought you here. Not only is it the heart of my kingdom, but I wish for its waters to echo with something other than loss and sorrow until they dry up and are no more."

Those newly bare hands moved: one settled at her waist and the other pulled a crystal sphere from nothing. Through it Sarah could see the bright waterfall tumbling down the hillside and the gold sunlight streaking through the trees.

"I made you an offer last time you were in my kingdom, an offer you refused. But it was for good because you would not have been my match had you accepted. Selfishly I wished you to take it," he said with a bit of a smirk, "but when you showed yourself more than a child, I knew you would one day be my equal. This is that day." He looked at the crystal in his palm. "I'm offering you your dreams, Sarah, but they are different this time, are they not? You went in search of new dreams. Here you have found them."

This was it. Sarah drew a deep breath. Her heart hammered loudly in her chest. His intent and his words had overwhelmed her emotions and her thoughts to the extent she felt like a puddle melted on the ground. It still amazed her that an otherworldly being like him would feel this way about her, not to mention think of something so heart-warming as the memory of words echoed forever in the beautiful waters beside them. It made her chest feel tight and her breath catch.

No one had ever made her feel this way: like she wanted to give them everything and do anything she possibly could to show how much she cared even if nothing was given back in return. The force of it surprised her, how much she loved the King of the Goblins. It felt as though Fiachna the Raven Mage himself could show up and the strength of the love itself would destroy him. All that time she tried to deny what was right before her eyes: a love undying and whole offered at the expense of his own vulnerability which he held so near with a shadow over her that sheltered from that which would cause her harm. He had waited for her for years. He protected her. He made her feel safe. It was her own feelings that made her uneasy for so long because she was afraid of taking that risk, but how could she hold back when he had risked everything for her?

At last, she knew what she could do for him, this lonely king.

But there was more than one matter to be certain of before she declared her choice.

"Jareth," she said softly, "I'm not like you. I'm going to grow old and die in such a short time in your point of view. Why would you care so much for someone whose life whisks right by you?"

"Did you not understand what I said earlier? There is a way…I would not make you the offer of forever unless I truly meant it. It is a secret jealously guarded by the Fey who know it, and it has not been done in centuries, but your worry is without merit, my love. My Queen would be at my side throughout all the millennia."

"How? How is it possible?"

The corner of his lips lifted slightly. "Just know that it is. The secret is not mine to reveal until it is certain it is needed."

As if her heart couldn't hold anymore feelings, a new one rose up like the rising of the sun on a summer morning: hope. One of her fears had just been stripped away and thrown to the ground. Another lingered.

"And…and what of…my home? The people I love and know back where I live? I can't just abandon them without saying anything! They'd think I was missing and probably murdered or something awful. I can't do that to them! And I…I don't know if I could never see them again. Poor Toby! And Amber!"

Sarah bit her lip and felt the fire of hope die down within her. Jareth tightened his hold at her waist as a quiet laugh escaped from deep in his throat. Her head snapped up to stare at him, laughing at her predicament.

"Dear Sarah! Do you not think that if I can travel between your world and mine whenever I wish that it would be any different now? It is a little thing to take you too."

He barely got the words out of his mouth before her face beamed with great joy and relief that emanated from her brilliant smile like a great, pure light. Her grasp on his arm strengthened, and she had to restrain herself from kissing that aristocratic mouth of his that destroyed her two greatest anxieties with only a few words.

Nothing stood between them. Her decision was final. The choice was no longer between him and her family and friends, and so any hesitation disintegrated underneath the confident gaze he levelled at her.

After reaching out to take the clear sphere he held, its warmth pulsing in her hand, she began to speak her heart in a voice loud and clear for the mimicking waterfall to forever resound.

"A while ago I caught you by yourself looking out a window and for once you actually didn't know I was there. I watched you and realised…I wasn't the only one who felt lonely sometimes. It was then I decided to do something for you after all you'd done for me, even though I didn't know what. I just wanted to help you or do something that would have meaning besides just saying 'thank you' for things that words felt inadequate to repay. For the longest time, it bothered me. Nothing came to mind. But…Midsummer's Eve, I began to realise what it was that I could give: something priceless and more precious than any idea I'd come up with. But was I willing to give it? It was a high price. But finally I knew that it was worth the cost." She reached out to hold his hand with her free one. "Jareth…my heart is yours."

The crystal disappeared with a faint flash of light. She gasped. However, it left something in its absence. A ring wrapped around her finger made of the purest crystal set with a large diamond cut like a star. The working was so fine and intricate that she was certain no human hand could have made it, and she could've stared at it for quite a while.

If her gaping hadn't been interrupted by her space being wholly invaded. Her head jerked up as soon as a white shirt filled all her vision and looked into a pair of pale eyes that regarded her more openly than she had ever seen them before. He still did not display a great deal of emotion etched in his face, but it was the subtle things that told her how rapturous and grateful the king was for the new answer he'd received. Those eyes poured forth a torrent of unreserved elation and warmth that was so unlike him that she stared with amazement, but only for a moment before he slid a hand behind her neck and kissed her.

This kiss was different than their first up in the Chamber of the Stars. Today it was the sun that shone on them, and as the stars' light to the sun's, so that kiss was to this new one. It was brighter, fiercer, and stronger. His other hand wrapped around her waist as he brought her closer as he submersed himself in everything that was Sarah Williams: the tickle of her hair against his cheek, the softness of her lips, the warmth of her creamy skin.

He slowly pulled away so she could breathe. Her eyes fluttered open and took in each minute detail of his face from only inches away. Her small white hands clutched his shirt still, and her cheeks were stained pink. She smiled brightly before meeting his lips again.

When the second kiss ended, she brushed her nose along his jaw. He closed his eyes.

"Come," he whispered into her ear.

Jareth took her hand and began leading her away from the waterfall so that it would only echo the words she bared from her soul. As soon as they were at a fair distance, she glanced over her shoulder one last time to look on the iridescent waters that would forever bear testament to her decision. Then she looked at the ring that magically encased her finger.

Was a ring the same here in this world as in hers? But technically he hadn't asked her to marry him…Or had he? She looked up at him to ask, but as the golden light touched his hair and he turned those penetrating eyes to fall on her with soft caresses upon her face, the peace that emanated from him like never before silenced her tongue and her doubts. Not yet. For now she pressed close enough that their arms brushed together as they walked and enjoyed these special moments of calm before the storm.

For a storm was coming…

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><p>After finishing a strange passage through the Goblin City in which they received many a stare and bewildered expression, Sarah breathed a sigh of relief. She had asked Jareth to just take them instantly to the castle, but he had taken her arm firmly in his and said it was now necessary that his subjects see her for who she really was to him. It was a sweet sentiment, but that didn't help her nerves as bulging, squinting, and large eyes of all colours and shapes watched the unexpected scene with unadulterated curiosity. Not one goblin spoke a word.<p>

_That was horribly awkward_, she thought to herself once the grand castle doors closed with a rumble behind them with a flick of the king's wrist. _Ugh. I can't even imagine how my friends are going to react._ That realisation was enough to send a stab of anxiety straight to her stomach since Ludo, Sir Didymus, and especially Hoggle weren't exactly fond of the Goblin King who ruled them. How was she going to tell them? Sir Didymus surely already had suspicions after this morning.

That line of thought was derailed when she felt a hand alight gently on her shoulder and trail softly down her back.

"Sarah, my dear, there is some unfortunate…_business_…I must attend to at once," he said in the quiet tones she was getting used to. "If you remain in my study, I'll be there in a little while."

She merely nodded. Was she dismissed that easily after all she'd said? After how much of her heart she'd poured out? His eyes had spoken volumes, but he still hadn't said anything in response to her declaration. Her gaze dropped down to the rough-hewn stones made into the floor as her heart dropped with it.

"Oh, and Sarah?" He lifted her chin with his hand. The intensity of his eyes speared through her soul. "Do not mistake my lack of words for a lack of feeling. Sometimes the emotions are stronger than words can interpret."

The corner of his mouth tugged up a little, and he leaned in to lightly press his lips to the corner of her mouth. He lingered for a moment before smirking and turning away, leaving Sarah staring after him with a haze around her mind.

Until she saw the route he took.

"The dwarf," she muttered suddenly. "How could I forget? Oh. Easily I guess…" How was a woman supposed to think properly with Jareth the Goblin King bestowing kisses and lavish attention on her? Exactly.

With a quick glance around to make certain no one observed her, Sarah followed silently in the wake of the king's footsteps. She was positive he was headed for the dungeons where he kept two dwarves in the oubliettes, one a friend and one possibly a great enemy and yet they wouldn't know for sure unless any answers could be gotten from him. Her stomach churned at the thought of torture, but she was uncertain if Jareth would stoop to painful torment to gather information he desired. The uncertainty came from past experience with Fiachna's attacks when a fire burned in Jareth's eyes like cold flame and he did not hesitate to go beyond mere defence to return the assault.

Oddly enough, although he walked on cold stone with hard-soled boots, she couldn't hear his steps even though he glided down the hall and to the stairwell that led to the darkest regions of the castle. Fortunately her shoes were padded so that she also could move without a sound. Her curiosity often got her into trouble, but she considered it worth it this time since the situation involved her quite directly. There would be no rest until the Raven Mage was put off for good. Which then led her to another conclusion that sent a shudder down her spine: the only way to be rid of him without fear of him ever trying again to do harm was to take his life.

She rubbed the back of her neck and pursed her lips. One could so easily slip from sunlight and peace to the dark confines of fear and shadow. One moment basking in warmth and the next with light extinguished around you as a storm rolled in.

The thin line of her lips turned up a little as she thought how fitting it was for her own life where so many unexpected circumstances moved over the sun, and yet the clouds always break. Storms never lasted forever.

Jareth had gone down the dark stairwell a few moments ago, so she slowly followed with a careful eye trained ahead to make sure he didn't make any sudden stops. She paused when she heard his clear voice demand entrance from the stout goblin guarding the door. There was a fumbling of keys and soft muttering as the goblin did as he was told. The key clicked in the lock, and the door creaked open.

_How am I going to get past the goblin without him making a fuss? _

The stairs weren't without light, so in the dimness she picked out a bit of loose stone crumbled on the floor two steps up. She snatched it and hid herself in one of the indented spaces along the wall clothed in shadow deep enough to conceal her. The rock clattered at the top of the steps. She waited.

Soon enough, the goblin came hobbling up the stairs with the keys jangling on his belt and his breath huffing. Since he looked at his feet, he missed Sarah huddled against the wall as he passed. With practiced swiftness, she hurried down the rest of the way to the door hoping he hadn't locked it behind Jareth. She smiled in triumph when she saw it hung slightly ajar.

Once she slipped into the room, she made her way warily around the edges listening for any sign of Jareth or the dwarf. She also stayed on the peripheral where the torches lit the walls in pools of firelight so as not to accidentally drop into an oubliette, their dark yawning mouths visible only to a certain extent.

There it was. A murmur. She moved to the right until it became clear. Just as she suspected, the Goblin King had come to interrogate their unwelcome guest.

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><p>Gerdol the dwarf sat cross-legged in the darkness.<p>

Darkness. It frightened him not.

The utter silence had been the worst part of his prison. Serving Fiachna meant dwelling in a place that wasn't exactly filled with lots of sound, whether of laughter, chatter, or singing; nonetheless, there was at least something there. Not here. Nothing.

His heart clenched, and he shuddered.

A looming figure had appeared from the nothingness around him with a pale globe resting in its hand. He recognised his captor: the Goblin King. The dim light cast sharp shadows over his defined features and tall frame to paint a terrible spectre with furious and menacing lines. The thin line of the unyielding mouth, the icy flame of the pale gaze, and the severe contour of the clenched jaw. The Sidhe were fantastical beings shrouded in mystery, beauty, and an ethereal quality, but this Fay looked even more fanciful within the faint light of his hand.

Gerdol steeled himself against the fear that crept like poison into the back of his mind. He knew this king should not frighten him after being under the hand of the Raven Mage, but he could not quench the dread at the sight of him in his daunting essence. A great cape that matched the shadows around him shifted under the light as he took a step forward.

"You're afraid," came his crisp, low voice. "That is well because you should fear what I may do to you."

It was a simple truth uttered with promise.

Gerdol held his tongue.

Those pale eyes roved the dwarf's face. "But you are more afraid of your master. Yes, I know from whence you came, dark dwarf. I am no fool, no matter what that wretched excuse of a mage says. You can deny it with your lips all you desire yet in your eyes I see the truth of the matter for the truth does not oft escape me." He took another menacing step closer. "You will tell me his plans and why he sent you here. If you do not…I will find a way to get the answers out of you one way…or another."

Gerdol drew in a long breath and remained silent still. But his hands trembled a little crossed under his arms. He hoped this king could not sense everything.

A few moments of tense quiet passed. The dwarf kept his eyes on his enemy, and the Goblin King did likewise. Eventually Gerdol couldn't hold that piercing stare and looked away. Pain. He could handle pain.

The Goblin King leaned forward. "Dwarf, I am asking you one more time: why were you sent here?" When he received no answer yet again, he continued in tones low and smooth. "You expect some sort of torment to get what I want. Perhaps it will be. And I shall tell you. Dreams are something of a specialty of mine, and although yours are a little difficult to discern, I can just enough." A pleased, cold smile cast his face in an even more ominous light. "What you truly desire is freedom: freedom from your cruel master whose word you never fail to obey but whose bondage has grown too suffocating. You're afraid to leave his service, but it is what you want."

Gerdol forced his eyes shut but couldn't avoid the shock of surprise that wriggled through him at the truth he thought he'd hidden so well.

"You see, torment for you isn't so much great pain or suffering of the physical kind, but it would torment you to know the escape that I offer and not to accept it."

His eyes opened.

The king reached out his hand with the pale globe of light and watched the dwarf carefully. "To slay your master would be an escape. All you have to do is give me the information I ask of you and I can offer freedom, but if you do not, you will sit in misery knowing that your greatest dream was offered to you and you didn't take it."

"You plan to kill him anyway," Gerdol finally spoke in his gruff voice. "It does me no good to tell you anything either way."

"Do not be so certain. Just imagine when I do take his life, do you really think I will let his slave live who served so loyally? You would taste a moment of freedom, then have it ripped from you. It's your life. What will you do with it?"

The dwarf hung his head and squeezed his arms over his chest. He had expected threats, taunts, or schemes but this was on a level completely unanticipated and it struck to his core.

And yet he couldn't bring himself to give an answer.

After a long bout of silence, the Goblin King vanished the light in his palm and all fell to darkness again. Out of the shadow, a voice spoke.

"Such a pity. Such a pity…"

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><p>Sarah assumed the interrogation was over and sprang to her feet. She rushed to the door, forgetting the goblin on the other side as she flung it open. All she heard was a squeal and a thud as it came into contact with something solid, but she hesitated only a moment before racing past up the steps.<p>

What she didn't expect was for Jareth to already be waiting up at the top with arms crossed and clothes much darker than when they parted. The black mantle fluttered around him as he shifted on his feet once she timidly reached the last few steps.

"I guess sneaking doesn't work around here," she mumbled.

He grunted a response with eyebrows arched. He looked grim, but she glanced up and thought she saw a sparkle to his eye that belied his true humour. "There was a reason I went alone, but I suppose you heard everything anyway."

"Yeah, I did actually." She crossed her arms over her chest in mock similarity to him and lifted her chin. "You don't really plan on killing him do you?"

He sighed through his nose and moved out of her way. "I am tempted to do it now before Fiachna uses his presence here to help in his plan somehow." He glanced around, noticing the goblins shuffling in and out of the halls. "Come. To my study."

He grasped her hand and pulled her along until they made it to the study which wasn't far from the Tower. It had been where she first had an official meeting with him once she arrived back in his kingdom. The fading sun sent dusty shafts of light onto the bare stone floor, and a faint draft passed through that was a bit chilly, sending a shiver down her spine and scattering goose bumps over her skin. Jareth eyed her askance and, with a flick of his wrist, flames licked to life in the hearth in hot shades of yellow and crimson that sent a comfortable warmth across the air.

There was a couch draped with black cloth along its high back in which Jareth motioned her to sit. As soon as she settled on one end, he smoothly perched in the middle and sent her a roguish smirk.

"Do I still frighten you, Sarah?"

"N-no…"

"Then why so far away?"

_Because having you so close greatly handicaps my brain_… "I think this is going to take some getting used to," she muttered out loud before scooting closer until their shoulders brushed. She swallowed hard and stared into the dancing fire to calm her erratic heartbeat.

Ever the secret gentleman, Jareth didn't take advantage of the nearness, instead placing his arm behind her and simply revelling in the wonder of the day's momentous occasion. Revelling in being able to touch her without her recoiling, to be so near he could hear her breath coming in rhythmic beats like that of her heart.

"Jareth," she said softly, "tell me more about you. I feel like I don't know enough."

"You know enough but perhaps not as much as you want," he said with a half-smile. "Ever curious is Sarah Williams!"

"Well, you can't blame me. I've given my heart to this man, and I suddenly realise there's a lot I don't know about him." She nudged his side with a smirk of her own. "Since he's put up so many walls and kept so many things secret so that no one can get close."

"That didn't stop you, did it?"

"No, although I didn't even realise that's what I was doing for a while, but maybe that's why it worked. I wasn't purposely trying. I'm sure others have attempted to make friends with you—or more than friends if Seraphina is any indication." At the mention of her name, Jareth's body stiffened beside her, the muscles tightening. "Sorry, I didn't mean to bring her up," said Sarah. "You know, I still think she was the one involved with the, uh, incident on Midsummer's Eve. She seems sort of obsessive and might let that drive her to help a maniac like Fiachna."

"Let us not mention either of them for a while more," Jareth insisted. "Tomorrow we'll discuss my plans and how to deal with this problem once and for all, but that will come later. You should free yourself from that worry for a time at least. Let _me_ be concerned with it for now."

She nodded and watched the fantastical shadows the firelight cast up along the walls.

"What did you wish to know?" he asked after a few moments of silence.

Her eyes brightened with the open door she'd waited so long to see. "I know you well enough to at least understand that you're not exactly an…open…person—uh, Fay, I guess—so I'm not expecting you to bare your soul or explain all about the details of your life." She grew a little embarrassed. "Especially since that would be, um, a lot of details for a lot of years."

The corner of his lips curled up, and one of his thin eyebrows rose.

"Ask me your questions, and I will give you answers." He chuckled, the vibration she felt from it giving her chills. "Most likely anyway."

For the next two or three hours—she lost track of all time and space—Sarah Williams conversed intimately with the King of the Goblins who still retained a lot of his reserve and barriers when it came to many of her questions. He was not the sort to speak so openly in such little time, whether it was important or trivial, but so far she had discovered a few interesting facts: he had no siblings or any other family to speak of, only two of his kindred would he consider friends, he'd barely actually used the Bog of Eternal Stench, and when he was extremely young—in Sidhe terms of course—he sang upon request at some of their galas. Of course she wouldn't know all of him in a day or even a year with his disposition, but she was excited to finally be able to begin the journey.

As the night grew older and the fire still threw warm light upon them, Jareth enjoyed the quiet that fell over the room. The weight of Sarah's head grew heavier on his shoulder. He glanced down and smiled. She had fallen asleep.

He settled his arm around her comfortably and rested his chin there in the soft shadows of her hair. He breathed in the lovely scent of her and closed his eyes.

Not long ago, the Goblin King would have scoffed at the mere notion of such a simple evening being enjoyable. Now he secretly wished there would be many more like unto it for the rest of his days.

"Goodnight Sarah," he murmured against her head. "I suppose you will have no need of dreams now that the waking life has become greater than any dream."

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><p><strong>NOTE:<strong> Hope it wasn't too mushy or anything :D. Reviews would be greatly appreciated! Everyone excited for the upcoming epic conclusion to Jareth and Fiachna's fued?

Not very many chapters left folks! I'd say around 4-6 chapters (probably 5) left!


	25. As the Pain Sweeps Through

**A/N: **Greetings everyone! And Happy Easter!

Ohhh man, I'm getting excited for these last few chapters. Hope you guys are too! I'm feeling that need to complete things and finish this story up, so it's come at the perfect time. So for the last chapter and this one I had a hard time with Jareth. At first I thought he seemed too affectionate or our of character in the fluffy parts, but I had to remember that he could be quite the romantic too (as seen in the lovely masquerade dream). I don't know. Hope he doesn't seem odd or out of character too much! I've gone back and forth a lot and ended up with things the way they are. He can be cruel, harsh, or full of mischief but we also saw how he could be romantic and thoughtful. I mean, think of the words in the songs. Okay, I've convinced myself! Hahaha...

Hehe. Read on my friends! Read on...

**Jill:** Thank you so much! Yeah, only a few left, but it's got to end sometime :). And I am sorry, but this will likely be the only Labyrinth fic I write :/. I almost always just have one story in me for one fandom (except Lord of the Rings) so I can't promise anything.

Thanks to my reviewers who make me day simply by responding to the story as it goes: **XXPay4XtraShippingsXX, She with the hazel eyez, The Queen of Water, PheonixBreaker90, hisangel18, ButterflyOnTheWall, Kaytori, willowrain, Honoria Granger, Dark Angel Millenia, Marcelisabeth Sinclaire, letsnottalk, Jill, Metal1loves, Kinzichi, Person3162012, **and a few** Guests**.

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><p><strong>Chapter Twenty-Four: As the Pain Sweeps Through<strong>

**...**

**...**

Sarah awoke to a remarkably pleasant position the following morning.

Her eyes cleared after a few moments once she regained consciousness from the dregs of sleep. The fire had died out, soft sunlight poured into the study, and the cold draft was gone. The first thing that struck her was the fact she was still on the couch in the study instead of in her bed, but immediately her whole attention zeroed in on the greater fact that she was curled up against something rather warm, solid, and alive.

Her green eyes travelled from a pair of black boots beside her bare feet, up the legs, to the torso she was half sprawled across, and stopped there. It was difficult to tell if he was awake or if he'd noticed her newly aware state. She closed her eyes again, listening to the heartbeat that thrummed steadily by her ear and decided she'd never heard such a soothing, peaceful sound. Her small fingers clutched at his shirt as she relaxed back into him because she certainly didn't have any wish to leave.

"Going back to sleep, are we?"

Her eyes popped open, and she slowly looked up through dark eyelashes at the face hovering not far above her own. It was a face she planned to memorise as well as the one that stared back at her in the mirror every day. Those pale eyes regarded her with amusement that glittered in their depths alongside something deeper.

"I don't hear you complaining," she said with a tweak of her mouth. "You've probably been planning something like this the whole time." The smile that fought its way to the surface finally burst through, so she laid her head back down over his heart.

His noise of scoffing rumbled in his chest. "Then I have finally succeeded. But my plans always succeed." He lowered his head a little closer to her. "Would you like to know what my other plan is?"

Her heart picked up speed, but she pretended nonchalance. "Mm. Considering you've already put a ring on me," she said as she admired the crystalline jewellery wrapped around her finger, "I'd say you can't have that many left. Speaking of that. Uh…are we…you know…"

He waited.

"What exactly does this ring mean?" she asked quietly as she lifted it up to the light. "Is it different here than back in my world?"

His elegant fingers brushed across her palm and gently held up her hand. "Here it is a sign of my intention for I intend to make you my Queen. We have promised eternity to each other, and this ring is bound on your finger just as our words have bound us together."

A lump formed in her throat as her heart nearly burst from the adoration there that burned deep like a searing coal. He stated such things so simply but with finality and confidence that made it like a proclamation to the Underground every time. He did not waver in his conviction. She hoped that she too would never waver as the years turned to forever…

"A promise," she murmured. "Now that's a promise I can keep." Would they be planning a wedding? She wondered what sort of ceremony was required here and if it was at all similar to the customs of her home.

Her light mood darkened a bit when the thought of plans caused her mind to wander to what he'd mentioned the day before about discussing what they were to do about Fiachna. As if sensing her shift in mood, he sighed and tightened his hold on her. The hand not holding her twisted a crystal into being, and he began rolling it around his fingers as he often did in habit. Sarah watched for a few minutes as they fell into silence.

She finally sat up to look at him. "How do you do that?"

"Do what, my dear?"

Her focus fizzled a little at the intensity of his gaze. "The…the way you juggle those crystals of yours."

"You just turn it like this." He demonstrated with practised ease, but there was a hint of a smirk at the corners of his mouth. "And like this."

She rolled her eyes. "That's so helpful. Show me how."

"I do believe I just did."

Her eyes narrowed. If he was going to tease, she would give him a taste of it herself. She pulled away and began to put distance between them, the warmth sorely missed but not for long if her guess was correct.

"Fine then. I suppose I'll just leave you to your toys and go find some breakfast or something."

A firm grip caught her arm with lightning speed. The expression he gave her made her laugh, a look tinged with exasperation that she easily recognised from many a time before, yet this one was less harsh. "There is no need for that, Sarah. First of all, these are not _toys_." The grimace made her struggle not to laugh even harder. "And second of all, if you ask anything of me, you can be sure I will do it. _When_ is another matter, of course…"

"Then teach me! I want to know how you do that. It looks…mesmerising." She settled back against him, this time sitting up a bit more.

Another crystal appeared in his palm, and he handed her one of them. It felt cool and smooth to the touch, although she half-expected to feel something magical emitting from its clear surface to her skin. It felt normal.

Again he demonstrated—this time much slower—so she could see how he moved his wrist and fingers. When her first attempt failed utterly, he let out a low laugh that she quietly admired. Perhaps trying to focus and accomplish something with Jareth so close wasn't the wisest idea…not while their relationship was so new and young.

He removed the gloves he had donned again the afternoon before and placed a light touch on her wrist to guide her hand. As he told her in words, his fingers slid from her wrist to her hand until his moulded to hers. She really did attempt the ball juggling as he was explaining, yet his gentle touch was enough to make things a little hazy in her brain.

"There! That time was better," he said, aware of the effect he was having on her but still trying to do as she asked. She wasn't the only one distracted. "Try again with a bit more twist to your wrist."

Jareth dropped his hand from hers yet not without letting it softly trace its way down to her elbow. A shiver went up and down her spine. She closed her eyes for a moment and took a deep breath before giving it another go. It went well at first, but then he put his hand on her waist and the crystal dropped to the floor.

It burst in a ball of light and sparks.

Sarah yelped and felt her body jerk at the startling surprise. Jareth simply laughed and shook his head.

"I thought they weren't supposed to do anything!" she exclaimed.

"I said nothing of the kind. I thought you might need a little motivation not to drop them."

Although she tried glaring at him, it disappeared when she just couldn't hold back her laughter anymore. She realised he was laughing again as well and came to a greater revelation that they had never shared laughter together. That was enough to make the scare worth it. Almost.

They persevered a little longer, but Sarah only slightly improved since she felt so much laughter and joy bubbling up in her chest ready to spill out. It was a private time between them: her trying not to drop the crystals and Jareth barely containing his amusement at her antics. It was odd for him to have such light-hearted moments not laced with some sort of bitterness or agenda, and so he etched the feelings and details firmly into his mind, even the way the hazy gold light of morning fell on Sarah's face, setting alight the colour of her eyes and the highlights of her hair.

The moment was broken when a loud knock rattled the door.

Jareth pursed his lips and reminded himself that strangling a goblin in front of Sarah might not be a good idea. He looked long at her one last time before sliding off the seat and stretching to his tall stature. "What is it?" he called with an edge to his voice.

The door creaked open and a goblin head poked in. Its beady little eyes darted between its Master and the girl. A frown creased its forehead into deep wrinkles. When Jareth raised a warning brow at the creature, it jumped and cleared its throat.

"Your Majesty, erm, there is a fox and a, uh, large thing at the castle doors asking about," he looked at Sarah, "about her. And about some, uh, dwarf or other named Higlet."

"Hoggle," Sarah muttered with a shake of her head.

"They says they want to see them, but no one could find her. What do I tell them?"

Instead of responding, Jareth looked to Sarah as if letting her answer the goblin. It did not escape her notice that he wasn't trying to speak for her, and she appreciated it.

"Well, I at least can come see them in a few minutes. You'll have to ask Jar—his _Majesty_ about Hoggle." Would it be appropriate for her to call him by name in front of his subjects? She supposed she'd have to ask.

"No one is permitted to see that measly dwarf," said the Goblin King. At Sarah's lifted eyebrows, he added, "Except the Lady Sarah."

_Lady Sarah? I much prefer him just using my name_, she thought as the goblin took his answers and scuttled off down the hall, forgetting to close the door. _How could I not think of that before? If I'm going to be with a king then that means that means I'll be his queen and be addressed formally like he is. Queen Sarah…How strange!_

Sarah's eyes got larger and her breath caught. Ruling over a kingdom of goblins wasn't the usual manner of ruling; nevertheless, it still was a position of great authority and title in the Underground and amongst the Tuatha de Danaan. It felt like an avalanche of thoughts overwhelmed her, and yet one overwhelmed all the others in a sudden rush: how much more would the Raven Mage's ire be stirred up against them when he found out they had found happiness together? His jealousy was infamous. If he knew, he'd plan something even worse than before.

Jareth was watching her carefully as if reading where her mind tread. "Sarah, you should eat something before you see your friends. Afterwards, we must speak of that which has yet been avoided. You should know what I have planned for that dark creature who preys on us and how we will be rid of him. But go and enjoy the morning while you can."

As if she could with that bit of information. Jareth was extremely cunning and able to manipulate things to his will, so she expected his ideas to be final and guaranteed to ensnare their foe once and for all. It was strange to imagine that the ordeal could soon come to an end. A weight lifted from her shoulders as she looked into his eyes and saw the determination and unwavering confidence. Her Goblin King was simply going to destroy that mage. She had no doubt.

As she sent him a smile and moved to the door, he glided forward and snagged her hand. "Did you really plan on walking out that door without bidding goodbye?" he questioned with a sly spark in those mismatched orbs.

"Oh? You wanted a goodbye?" She felt emboldened by the love searing her heart with an immortal brand and the observation of the effect that she had on him. He knew of her trembling and blushes, but little did he realise how Sarah had noticed his own vulnerability.

She drew up on her toes and pressed a kiss to his lips that was slow and tantalising. Once she was breathless, she pulled away and gave him one last look before slipping out the door. His smug expression made her grin and run a hand through her long hair more than once as she walked down the hall.

It was going to be a long few hours before she could see him again.

* * *

><p>It was the dark of early morning before the dawn when the sky was painted pale charcoal and the stars began to fade. In the East was only a faint lightening along the tips of the mountains, and the breeze was still bitten with cold.<p>

A woman tugged the hood of her silver cloak closer around her face as she moved silently over the dewy grass until she came to stand like a pale statue beneath the eaves of a giant willow. Its long arms drooped to the ground with light green leaves that glistened with water and sang softly with the touch of the wind. She glanced from side to side every few moments, tapping her foot once or twice impatiently on the ground.

"Seraphina," said a deep voice from the other side of the tree, "so glad you came when I summoned."

Seraphina pressed her lips together and scowled. "I cannot be summoned, Fiachna. Do not mistake my actions. Your letter intrigued me, nothing more. Now state your business and what it is you seem to want with me."

"I suppose you are used to men letting you know precisely what they want from you," that grating voice continued. "I will do the same. Although it is not your hand in marriage or anything else you might offer to those poor souls that I desire. We made a pact, Seraphina. We came to an agreement on Midsummer's Eve which has not come to fruition."

Her scowl dissipated. She stepped around the bole of the willow to face her unwelcome visitor. The Raven Mage leaned against the rough wood with a black cloak draped over his figure and a pipe trailing smoke from within the shadows of his hood.

"That agreement fell apart as surely as our attempt did," she hissed. "It was a disgrace and a disaster."

"So that is why you hide here at a relative's home? No one knew it was you, you should know."

"I'm not hiding!" the Fay maiden insisted with fists clenched. Her nearly-white hair shimmered as she moved forward. "And I refuse to get involved with anymore of your schemes. They never work. You might as well stop trying and accept the fact that Jareth the Goblin King can never fall to your plans."

The dark figure stiffened at her words, and she felt a gleam of satisfaction spark through her. Until he cast back his hood and those flaring gold eyes burned to her soul with their ferocity. He closed the gap between them and gripped her wrist like iron.

"Do not dare speak that way to me!" he whispered with a venomous hiss. "The only reason that night didn't go the way we planned was because of the presence of so many others around. I said I needed a second hand to be able to succeed. It is still true. This time…this time there will not be anyone else to interfere. All I need is a little aid from you, Seraphina, and your revenge on that mortal and on Jareth will finally happen."

She jerked her arm out of his grasp and felt a fire of her own arise in her chest. "Watch your step, mage. I am no helpless dryad or fairy to be toyed with. The only reason I would do anything to help you would be because it accomplished what I desire. I'm sorely tempted to refuse and let you fail again and again on your own."

His features hardened. "You speak boldly, but in your heart you know that it is what you want and that it's the only way to achieve it." He lifted a hand as if to touch her face, but she recoiled and took a step back. He smirked. "So cold. That coldness is what I need. We will rip that mortal fool out of his grasp and watch him suffer. You cannot resist that opportunity…"

As much as Seraphina hated to admit it, the mage was partially correct. She could say 'no' and leave it all behind, but the temptation to indulge her sense of revenge for her wronged spirit was too great.

And in her assumption of strength, she became weak.

"Fiachna, you will tell me your design. Only then will I decide if I am willing to do my part. Then it is over. I never wish to see you again."

A slow smile that was as cold as death spread over his face. "It is a deal then. I have a way to enter the Goblin Kingdom…"

* * *

><p>Hoggle sighed from deep in his chest and rested his head on his knees. Although he was a dwarf and was not repelled by the deep or dark places of the earth—for his race were known for their delving and quarrying in the mountains and dwellings in caves—he still felt the confines of his black prison keenly upon his mind and spirit. Every day of his captivity in the oubliette he let himself feel guilty over putting Sarah in danger, even if he hadn't been given any full explanation as to what was going on. Some deranged mage wasn't just trying to get to Jareth but to Sarah as well, for some reason.<p>

He scratched at his chin. While he admitted he wasn't the sharpest of tools, he would bet his jewels—well, maybe not really—on the fact that something more was going on with Sarah. She was his friend. His first friend. She wasn't the child he met at the front of the labyrinth years ago, but he couldn't find any reason why she would be here willingly. And spending time with Jareth to boot! Something was unusual about all that…

Then an odd noise broke through his thoughts.

Were those voices? He hadn't heard a single sound from the other dwarf down here the entire time. Since it was a fair assumption that Jareth would question the dark dwarf Gerdol, Hoggle waved it away thinking it was probably an interrogation by the Goblin King. The low murmur stopped, and he found himself listening merely out of curiosity since he himself wanted to know if the other one of his kindred did have something up his sleeve. He stood up and for once wished he wasn't a dwarf but something much taller.

The voices began again, this time a little louder as if nearer his dark prison. This startled him. What was going on up there? In a few moments it grew distinct, and his heart withered in his chest.

"…as you asked, Great Master. What would you have Gerdol do now?"

A deep and dark voice answered him. "You've proven your usefulness. Follow me and I shall reward you by taking you from this place. Come. We must make haste to get that girl."

Hoggle scrambled at the wall and frantically tried to think of any possible way to get out of the pit. A shadow passed over the hole as Gerdol and his Master glided past. A faint creak of a door came, then the sound of gurgling death as the goblin standing guard was slain before an alarm could rise.

Hoggle clapped his hands to his face and trembled. "Poor Hoggle! What to do. Poor Sarah! Help!" He began shouting as loud as he could in hopes that someone would hear. Anyone. "Help! Trouble! Someone, trouble!"

The poor dwarf's desperate cries were heard by no one. It was already too late.

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><p>Jareth sat on his throne trying to block out the raucous by all the goblins lounging around. Some told loud stories to each other, other rolled dice as they made bets, a few danced around, and a great amount of them simply stood or sat somewhere pretending to be important as they held their spears or axes. It was like being in a large room full of ugly children with terrible manners.<p>

He already had distraction enough from consistently reliving the past few days and the bright memories etched into them that burned his heart like a pure and enchanting fire. Oftentimes in the past he found himself bored as the days wore on and managed to make some sort of mischief to entertain, but this day was different. There was no chance to get bored when he could only think of Sarah and her acceptance of him, her love for him.

For a man who never thought there would be love in all his immortal years, it threw a light onto everything around him in a way he'd never experienced.

A couple of tall goblins got into a tussle only a few feet away from his throne, shouting and grumbling at each other before a few fists were thrown. It caused quite the tumult, and Jareth arose from his seat and wacked them with his sceptre across the head. And another time for good measure.

What was that? In the middle of all the chaos around him and distractions within his mind, something pricked at the back and tingled down his spine. He shouted for all the creatures to be silent. Suddenly the room was still with a bunch of cowering goblins scrambling to hide somewhere from their master's wrath, but he had his attention elsewhere.

It almost felt as if…

Magic.

No one else had magical abilities in this kingdom besides himself.

_Sarah_. He didn't know where she was since she'd gone off with her strange friends. A crystal conjured into his hand even as he rushed out of the throne room. Nothing. His entire being grew cold and hard.

Even as his legs carried him swiftly outside the castle, he tried again to see Sarah. Nothing. This time he spied on the whereabouts of her friends Ludo and Sir Didymus who she was supposed to be with. When he saw within the crystal the two creatures, his heart stopped beating and all sign of life in him left.

Ludo bent over the fallen body of the feisty fox. Whether the fox was alive still or not, it was hard to determine. Ludo seemed all right until he turned and he could see that blood ran down his arm. Around them lay devastation.

The King of the Goblins became aware of both everything and nothing all at once.

Sarah had been taken.

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><p><strong>NOTE:<strong> Fiachna better run. End of story.

Let me know what you guys think! Excited? Upset? Happy? Wanting to rip apart Fiachna yourself?

See you all next time...


	26. As the World Falls Down

**A/N:** Greetings my wonderful, amazing, gracious readers! Hope you're all doing well and enjoying the arrival of spring :). I'm always so excited to hear your responses to what goes on, and last chapter did not disappoint, haha...

I really enjoyed writing this one. Hope you guys enjoy reading it just as much!

**Jill**: Haha, well thank you. I certainly do intend to keep writing. Until my last breath!

**Shobgoblin:** Thanks so much for your review! If I at all sound professional, that is a huge compliment :). Thanks for suggesting that style to be written in more. I'm not sure if it will or has been, but it's something I'll definitely keep an eye out for. Well, as for any adventures afterwards or if they tie the knot...my lips are sealed ;).

Thanks to all you who reviewed. You really do make it so much fun to do this: **Kaytori, The Queen of Water, Jill, Kate499, She with the hazel eyez, XXPay4XtraShippingsXX, willowrain, deerstop, PheonixBreaker90, mrsgoblinqueen97, Metal1loves, JennaSoprano, Elphaba Rose Wilde, Kinzichi, KawaiiScorpio, Shobgoblin, avulgarism,** and** Guest**.

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><p><strong>Chapter Twenty-Five: As the World Falls Down<strong>

**...**

**...**

The stench was awful. The darkness was consuming. And the cold seeped into her bones until it felt no fire could warm her ever again. So many muscles through her arms, down her back, and along her shoulders ached. Something hard and sharp dug into her ankles.

Sarah groaned as she returned to the conscious world. It was a highly unpleasant affair to go from being blissfully unaware to awaking in a terrible place full of shadow and hard rock. She opened her eyes and waited for them to adjust. Gradually vague shapes and lines appeared in a short radius around her where she lay on the ground.

There were no windows, but a light must have been down further away or around a corner because the darkness wasn't complete. When she lifted her hand, she could see the outline of each of her fingers as she wriggled them, so she squinted down at the rest of her to see what state her body was in.

As she suspected, the hard, biting metal around her ankles was a pair of shackles tightly locked and chained to a wall. The chains rattled when she pulled her feet and didn't extend very far, so there would be no exploring her black prison. The smell certainly wasn't as bad as the Bog of Eternal Stench—that was a memory imprinted on her nostrils that couldn't be erased—but it was like rotting garbage a few years old overlaid with a tinge of dankness. Everything seemed to be made of gigantic stones that held the cold in them like blocks of ice.

Thinking of ice sent her mind to the Fay maiden she'd encountered at Midsummer's Eve whose invisible icy tendrils had wrapped around her throat. She shuddered as she thought of later that evening when it happened again as soon as Fiachna attacked them and someone snatched her into the air.

_Am I in some ice palace of hers?_ she wondered. _Seems like it'd be a little more light. And white. _

Then Sarah remembered.

Her breath caught in her throat, and her chest tightened. She pulled her legs up to her chest so she could rest her forehead on her knees as a wave of despair washed over her.

"Fiachna," she whispered. "He got in."

She'd been with Sir Didymus and Ludo trying to figure out a way to break the news that Jareth would soon have a queen at his side and that that queen would be her—of her own choice of course—when a shadow pooled around them. Both the creatures got to their feet and made a clamour, but it was too late. A figure draped in black and gold swooped in amidst the confusion and grabbed Sarah from behind.

It didn't take much guessing to surmise who it was that had come.

Sir Didymus saw what was happening and lunged forward with his trusty sword unsheathed. Sarah tried to warn him, but no sound came out of her mouth. She could only shake her head and mouth the words as he valiantly attacked the great power who'd come to take her captive.

The brave fox barely got a few leaps forward before a shard of obsidian formed in the air and ran him through. Sarah's heart burst, and her lips screamed silently as the poor creature dropped to the ground. Ludo straightened up and seemed to become intent on following Sir Didymus's example when everything grew hazy and dark. The last thing she remembered were the strong, harsh arms gripping her body tight and Ludo's agonised wail piercing the air.

She wiped away a few tears that rolled down her cheeks. Had the mage gotten Ludo too? She didn't know, and it drove her mad to imagine what might have happened after she blacked out. If that foul demon had killed her friends…

A scraping noise echoed through the chamber. The space sounded long and spacious if the sounds bouncing off the walls were any indication.

There were no footsteps, but a faint rustling and sliding noise grew closer as if a heavy piece of cloth drug along the ground. For the first time since waking, fear bubbled up in her chest and shook in her hands.

A torch ignited with a tongue of fire on the wall opposite her. She jumped a little.

She was indeed in some dungeon built of rock, and her shackles connected to the wall that curved around behind her. It was from around the corner that her visitor approached and where the original light must have been. Her hackles rose on the back of her neck, and she scooted closer to the wall.

_Just remember_, she told herself, _it's only Bran. Yes, he turned out to be a sadistic mage with lots of power and plots for revenge, but it's still him in some way._

It did little to assuage her dread as a dark figure appeared from around the bow of the wall. Sure enough, it was Fiachna the Raven Mage in all his majestic bearing and wicked aura. The black hair, the golden eyes, and the hard line of his mouth all came into sight in the flickering firelight on the wall; yet it cast deep shadows of contrast over him that enhanced the sinister impression.

"Oh, _Bran_. How nice to see you again," she said with a sickly sweet voice.

Instead of growing angry, a smirk appeared. "It is time we met again, I think. It's been so awfully long for old friends to stay apart." He took a few steps closer. "Under poor circumstances though, I'm afraid."

"Yes, poor circumstances that are your fault. You're not sorry at all, are you?"

"Sorry? No, I am not. I must admit, at first I could not fathom why the Goblin King of all beings would choose a little mortal girl to give his heart to, to let her be his weakness. Then I spent time earning my way into your affections and realised he may not have been so mad as I thought. There's a peculiar sort of…charm…to humans." He waved a hand in a vague gesture. "You know, their many petty worries and strange habits and all without a drop of power. It was not something I would do again, but I found it most interesting…"

Sarah waited for some villainous plot to come out of his mouth about taking over the earth to rule the puny humans. Wasn't that what villains usually did?

"You are different than most of them there I saw," he continued. "You have a touch of, shall we say, the fantastical. You often didn't fit in because you had seen something beyond your own world that hardly anyone else ever had witnessed. They all walk about in their normal lives ignorant of the splendour just a world away."

She shook herself and contemplated covering her ears as his voice grew smooth and rich like caramel oozing warm and sweet down his chin. His words rang true. It was something she had tried to push aside, but once in a while it rose up like a wall she couldn't get by.

Fiachna clasped his hands behind his back and paced slowly in front of her.

"You are very lovely too. You almost compare with the beauties of our Sidhe kindred, but I would only admit that to you. Throughout our history the occasional human mortal has caught the eye of a Fay, but it never is without a bit of trial because some of us don't think it wise or right. Me, for example: I do not mind having your kind as little playthings. To be bound together though by something as powerful and intimate as love and matrimony? Never! Permitting the brief, pointless lives of mortals to be bound to us! It's preposterous."

Sarah's heart tightened and swelled all at once. She licked her lips and drew a deep breath before speaking.

"But there's a way to become immortal so it does last forever."

Fiachna's pacing stalled, his back to her. It was a minute or two before he finally spun around on his heel and loomed over her small frame huddled against the wall.

"Aha! This is better than I even dreamed!" He laughed a loud, harsh laugh that split the air. He reached out to finger a strand of her dark hair. "The mortal girl fallen in love with the Goblin King! Good. Very good. The presence of hope will make the fall even sweeter. True despair and anguish of the soul. Very good indeed."

She smacked his hand away with hers that trembled. It was difficult, but she tried to hide how deeply his words affected her. He simply chuckled and looked down at her feet. Without a word, he waved a hand in their direction. The shackles fell away with a clank to the floor.

Sarah wanted to run as fast and hard as she could, but she knew it was futile. They were in the mage's lair, and he was too powerful to escape from. She'd been humbled frequently in the Underground when her frail mortality and lack of magical defence left her so vulnerable against beings far greater than humans. As much as she felt her pride rise up and say that she didn't need anyone to help her and she could keep herself safe, she knew deep in her heart it wasn't true. No one was meant to fight alone.

But that wouldn't stop her from doing whatever she could to destroy this beast's plans for her and the man she loved.

_Jareth…where are you? I need you. _

It was a terrible thought to imagine that he might not be able to find her. It turned her blood to rivers of ice.

"Get up," Fiachna commanded.

"Why? What are you going to do with me?"

"Isn't it obvious? You are the bait and your lover the prize. I have waited years far beyond your lifespan for this day when I could finally bring him to his knees. I will devastate him."

"And that's all you can do isn't it?" she murmured as she looked into those bright gold eyes. "Destroy things."

He struck her across the face. She winced at the pain that felt a lot more intense than it should have from a single slap. The mage snatched her arm and jerked her to her feet.

"Get up! I thought I might keep you as a pet when Jareth was dead," he hissed into her ear, "but your future is not looking so fortunate anymore. If I do keep you alive, there will be a lot of suffering and breaking to make certain you are the perfect slave." He laughed. "Or I will just kill you when he gets here so the worst damage is done."

She struggled under his grip, but it was as solid as rock. Besides, he only took pleasure in her meagre attempts to resist.

"I do not think I will be the one to do it though. Come with me and greet my other guest."

Shackles appeared around her wrists, and he tugged her along by a chain. They turned the corner and headed towards a door at the end of the long shadowed corridor. Sarah paid attention to every detail as they passed through the door and up a flight of stairs. If she even had one moment of opportunity, it would be a benefit to know this place as much as possible.

Torches flared to life as they went through another two passes: one not much wider than the shoulders of a man and the other as broad as a room. Not a single patch of colour or trinket or rug decorated the eerie halls, and not a single window had yet appeared. It was like a maze of doors and halls. Sarah felt her heart drop with each new doorway or passage that muddled her memory.

Then the mage shoved her into a vast chamber with a ceiling that went up like a spike, windows dotting the walls like small boxes of faded light, and multiple table and desk surfaces scattered with vials, leather-bound books, grotesque figurines, and other assortments of possessions.

"Sarah Williams," Fiachna drawled, "meet our distinguished guest. Although…I do believe you already have met."

Sarah's mouth turned up in a grimace as a tall, graceful figure turned around and drew off the silver hood of her cloak. The chilly disposition sharpened her features and the blue of her eyes.

"Seraphina!" Sarah spat.

"Hello, little mortal."

* * *

><p>Everything in the world ceased to exist. There were only two beings that still existed: the only person who mattered at all and the enemy who had taken her.<p>

After everything—precautions, wariness, defence—the Raven Mage had managed to steal away the most precious thing in the Goblin Kingdom. The only thing that had made Jareth look forward to eternity without a sense of woe and boredom. The only thing that made him feel cared for…loved.

Jareth the Goblin King was no longer even aware of himself. Only a possessed need to hunt down Fiachna the Raven Mage and draw the life out of him.

After securing Sarah's safety of course.

Everything was hazy and sharp all at once. It no longer mattered that Fiachna had grown rather powerful or that he didn't know where the filth of the earth was hiding. Jareth certainly wasn't the most powerful of his kindred, but the mage would find out just how dangerous it was to play games with the Goblin King, the Master of Mischief who was about to bring a storm in his wake.

He didn't notice, but as soon as he realised his dear Sarah had been taken, her friend Ludo cowered and crouched over the body of his friend the fox. Sir Didymus's chest still rose and fell with shallow breath, so the wound hadn't been fatal, but he would need attention soon.

"Friend hurt," Ludo moaned. His gigantic hands gently scooped up the fox and held him to his furry chest.

Hearing a voice finally broke through Jareth's mad haze, and he narrowed his eyes at the two creatures. "Take him to the castle. Mary will care for him. I don't want Sarah blaming me for the beast's death."

Ludo backed away and hurried on lumbering legs to the castle. Jareth didn't watch, but he appeared in the dungeons where Hoggle and the other dwarf had been kept in the oubliettes. Gerdol the dwarf would know where Fiachna had gone and how he managed to find a way through Jareth's precautions without being detected, but the mage might have taken his slave with him.

He lit the oubliette where the dark dwarf had been kept and felt like crushing rock beneath his fingers when he saw it was empty. Something caught his eye. He floated down to the ground inside and increased the flow of pale light as he bent down to the floor. There was a dark powdery substance that at first looked like dirt or sand, but when Jareth pinched some between his fingers, it all came together. It was not any earthy substance at all: it was some magical conduit of the Raven Mage just as the Goblin King had his crystals. Most Fey had some sort of physical medium attached to their particular personality, as if their abilities became something tangible rather than an unseen force they wielded. This black powder was Fiachna's, and Jareth could sense the fading power when he touched it.

That dwarf had been meant to be captured all along so he could provide a connection within the kingdom for his master. Here Fiachna would have entered into the realm.

Jareth went to Hoggle's dark pit and leaped down and landed in a crouch with his cloak fluttering around him. Hoggle shouted in surprise and bumped his head against the stone wall, yet he recovered himself rather quickly.

"Master! He's here! You were right. That…that _dwarf_ tricked me and brought someone here in the dungeons!"

Jareth sneered. "Tell me something of use! Did you overhear anything that could be valuable?"

"I…I'm not…"

"Tell me quick or it's the Bog for you!"

Hoggle shuddered and fumbled with his hands. His memory bowled him over like a giant wave. "Sarah!" He jumped up and down once or twice before pacing back and forth. "They were gonna' get her. They said they were after 'the girl' and that's got to be her!"

"They've taken her," Jareth said with steely calm.

Hoggle stumbled and came to a standstill with his mouth hanging open and his eyes wide with grief.

"Anything else they might have said that you can tell me as quickly as you can?"

Hoggle seemed to understand now why his king was more irritable and sharp than usual. His head bowed, and he shook it slowly. They had been speaking in such low voices that he couldn't hear hardly anything they had said.

"And did that dwarf tell you where he was from?"

"He did, but I'm sure it was all lies! If he served that dark creature that came here, he certainly didn't come from the Grey Mountains. When I see him again…"

"You will not be," Jareth jeered. "He will be dead before anyone sees his face again."

Hoggle wiped his sweaty palms on his breeches. "T-take me with y-you."

Jareth's brow arched.

"Sarah's my friend. I…I want to help."

Jareth laughed, but it was neither warm nor friendly. "You cannot help me, fool."

"I won't be in the way! Someone hurts Sarah, and I'd like to hurt them!" He stomped his foot. "I'm not going to leave her. That's what I did before but not again! I'll…I'll find a way."

Jareth paused and felt a sliver of reason slice through the dark cloud of anger swelling like a storm around him. He eyed the diminutive creature with slight distaste mingled with a sense of being pleased by the dwarf's devotion to his beloved. He found the strange sensations to be odd, but perhaps the dwarf could be of some use after all…

* * *

><p>Gerdol drug his feet along the ochre rock and sand crunching beneath his boots. The dry air whipped his ebony shags of hair around his face and parched his mouth all the way down his throat, leaving a foul taste on his tongue. The smell of arid earth burning in the sun lined his nostrils, but he thought that might be because of the sand that swept up in his face whenever the wind picked up.<p>

The poor creature had been abandoned.

Fiachna had promised safety and a journey home at his side, but the mage had changed his mind once he had the mortal girl in his clutches. Gerdol winced at the memory and rubbed at his chest where fury festered like an open wound. Those golden eyes had taken one last look down at him, and that liquid voice spoke his doom: _You have served me faithfully, and if you survive the next few days, you may yet, but I'll need all the energy and power I can manage. You must stay behind. It will take too much to take all three of us back to the Dark Fortress._

And the Raven Mage and the unconscious woman in his arms had disappeared in the blink of Gerdol's dark eye. Now he walked the barren land outside the borders of the Goblin Kingdom where the sun beat down yellow and hot and there was not another realm for many leagues. He could not go back to the madness of the labyrinth under the Goblin King's control, but he doubted he would last long out here where hunger and thirst would take his life or Jareth would find him and drain his lifeblood.

He threw up his hands over his eyes when a cloud of sand and dust swirled up like a violent cyclone only twenty feet in front of him. Although the sudden shade relieved his overheated skin, the whirling tempest could not bode anything pleasant.

Gerdol dropped to his knees as the wind's ferocity intensified and tore at his clothes. The sand stung his exposed skin at his throat and face.

Out of the waves of swirling sand and dust, a figure appeared. The wind seemed not to touch him but rather it lashed out from him like unseen whips. He was clothed in black leather, and his spiky pale hair became visible. Gerdol knew exactly who he was.

He dropped deeper to the ground and clutched fistfuls of dirt. His doom had come.

Jareth the Goblin King stepped out of the tempest, and the curls of power whipping around them slowly died down, but the storm in his face did not abate. His blue eyes were like piercing blades of ice as he stalked towards his prey. The dark dwarf was too occupied by this terrible figure to notice the much smaller one coughing and waving a hand in front of him where the cyclone had been.

Gerdol inhaled sharply when a strong hand like cold iron gripped his shirt and lifted him into the air.

"Death take you swiftly by my own hand if you do not answer me," the Goblin King said in tones as cold and hard as his eyes. "Where are they?"

Gerdol kicked his legs and closed his eyes to avoid those orbs that might burn straight through him. The hand tightened, and the other rose up to touch a single finger to his chest.

"I warned you, foul dwarf. If you do not answer me, there will be such pain as you have never known. Not even from your cruel master who now cowers in his hole to hide from me."

The dwarf did not take long to decide. In Fiachna's haste to slip away to his hiding place while sparing as much power and energy as possible, he forgot something very important: an ill-treated, scorned slave can easily forget either the threats or promises of reward from his master.

Before Jareth could wrap his fingers around his little throat, the dwarf opened his lips and spilled secrets of his master that would earn his instant death—or ghastly torture. He told him the location of Fiachna's lair where they had dwelt for some years, not sparing any detail so that the death of his wicked master would be more assured and thus save his own life: unless the Goblin King decided to end it after he got what was useful from him.

The king's jaw loosened a fraction at the willingly given information, but there was suspicion in his gaze. "If you are not telling me the truth…"

"I swear it!"

"But what if he again laid a clever trap and made it seem as if he abandoned you here so that I would find you and receive lies?"

Gerdol shook his head. "No! I swear it! He lied to me. He left me. Gerdol is alone now. Couldn't use up precious power to take me too."

His last remark saved him from anymore interrogation. Jareth slowly lowered him to his feet and dropped him the last yard so he landed in a heap at the king's boots. "I can see you aren't telling lies. You see? You should have taken my offer yesterday. The Raven Mage has no natural affection or loyalty. You were just another tool in his hand to be used and cast aside. Did you really think he would reward your fealty?" Jareth sneered. "Foolish dwarf. You also would have been spared my wrath, but since you aided in the capture of Sarah Williams…"

Jareth raised a hand. Another voice shouted.

The other dwarf Hoggle darted over and avoided looking up in his king's face. "She won't like it. Not at all, you know. He was forced to do it all!"

"Not all," said Jareth. "He would still serve that filthy raven if he hadn't been discarded. Yet…" he paused with a cunning gleam sparking in his eyes, "…he can still be useful without killing him."

Hoggle jerked his head towards the other dwarf. Gerdol looked away as his cheeks burned with shame. For one of his kindred to witness this spectacle was a great disgrace. But was it a greater disgrace to betray his own race to serve such a one as the Raven Mage?

"He will come with us."

"But won't we be too much?" said Hoggle. "If his master didn't want to take three—"

Jareth fingered the edges of his cloak with both hands and cut off the dwarf. "I am not the Raven Mage. I am the Goblin King."

He opened his palm and blew. A bit of shimmering dust flew out and settled on the heads of both dwarves. They exchanged a bewildered glance, then gawked openly as the king shrunk and shifted. Downy tan wings unfurled around him, and a pair of beady dark eyes regarded them coolly as a barn owl stood on the sand where the majestic Goblin King had been.

They shuddered and panicked when their bodies felt as if they were shifting and being pulled at like forming clay. Hoggle shook his arms and groaned, but suddenly he was up in the air. His arms had turned to wings! Instead of shaking, they were flapping. He looked down and saw that he also had become a bird, a little smaller than Jareth and with dark brown feathers speckled with tan. With one glance, he saw that Gerdol had transformed into a black raven who opened and closed his beak as if he tried to speak but couldn't form words.

Jareth rose up into the air and waited until the new birds—a brown owl and a raven—followed his example. He soared on the winds that whirled up above the earth and ruffled his feathers and set his piercing gaze to the Northeast where the most precious treasure he had ever possessed had been taken. Although this manner of travel would take longer, it would reserve his magical capacity for the more important task ahead of removing the dark soul of Fiachna from his body.

Gerdol was no accident. The dark dwarf obviously hadn't been told the truth, but Jareth was no fool or simpleton. Fiachna would not risk leaving a loose end so close to the Goblin Kingdom without a purpose, but clearly he believed his opponent would be blinded by rage and grief which always obscured reasonable judgment.

It did not blind him. It sharpened his sight and enhanced his mind like a blade honed on the wheel.

They would remember the other half of his name famed throughout the Underground for he was not only the Master of Music. He also was the Master of Mischief…

* * *

><p>NOTE: Eeeeeee...Excitement!<p>

I am very aware that I do keep you guys hanging for a while almost every time, but trust me when I say that it's much better that way or else you'd end up with some shoddy work on upcoming chapters. I write a little ahead so I have room to work and change or add things if necessary, but I've kind of caught up to myself now that I'm writing the climax and resolution of the story that are so extremely important. I try not to let too much time pass in-between chapters, but in the midst of writing real novels and the rest of things going on in my life, it's been taking a little longer to perfectly craft these crucial last few pieces. I'm a perfectionist, haha! Both a curse and a blessing...Don't worry: this isn't a warning that it's now going to be two months for each wait, lol. That would be terrible!

Please review! :) This is one of the last chapters in which you'll have the opportunity. And I love hearing from you all!


	27. But I'll Be There for You

**A/N: **I'd like to thank all of you who are reading this and especially for those of you who leave reviews. You all are so amazing! You make this so much fun :). You may notice I haven't responded to most of your reviews this time, but that's because there wasn't much I could say since I'm keeping my lips sealed for now...But I appreciate each and every response! And I hope you guys enjoy this chapter as much as I enjoyed writing it. I'm just so excited for these last few segments of the story! The closing act and the grand finale ;). I thought all the action would be one chapter, but as I wrote, I realised that it's going to be two for sure. We've all waited for this confrontation and final fight between the king and the mage, I think it deserves a bit more than one crammed chapter.

I'm off to Texas for a while here soon for my best friends wedding (YAY!) so the next installment might not be up until 3 weeks from now. Sorry about that! But I'm part of the wedding and will be there for a bit. I'm just so excited to go see my bestie get married to the love of her life!

All right, go find out what happens :)

**Marcelisabeth:** He kind of did, but in a small way. Just curiosity and baseness really. Other emotions have squashed it, haha. I kind of address Sarah's surprise at Seraphina's presence in this chapter actually! Hope it makes sense. Hahaha! I didn't realise how close their names were either! Weeiird...

Thanks to: **The Queen of Water, Kaytori, She with the hazel eyez, black-heart-green-eyes, XXPay4XtraShippingsXX, willowrain, PheonixBreaker90, HonoriaGranger, Metal1loves, JennaSoprano, hotforteacher3, ButterflyOnTheWall, Kinzichi, Boybandelflover, avulgarism,** and** 2 Guests**.

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter Twenty-six: But I'll Be There for You<strong>

**...**

**...**

Sarah gaped at Seraphina with escalating resentment. The longer she stared into those pale, icy eyes, the more she began to see exactly what these associates had planned. The only way Fiachna could've gotten into the Goblin Kingdom without going through the labyrinth was if he had help, and the only way of sure defeat over Jareth needed the same solution.

"You're helping _him_?" Sarah cried with an incredulous sharpness to her voice that almost echoed in the circular chamber Fiachna had brought her to.

Seraphina glided across the room without a sound from her slippered feet on the large grey stones. Her scrutiny no longer troubled Sarah as it did when they first met at the Midsummer's Eve celebration only a few days ago. Sarah's back stiffened, but she held her ground and did not look away from the scheming creature. This appearance confirmed that she was the one who tried to take Sarah away from Jareth that same night they met out by the lake when cold, invisible bonds drug her through the air and tore her away from her Goblin King. Not that there had been much speculation or doubt…

They had suspected her involvement with the Midsummer's Eve fiasco, but to see her here taking that next step into Fiachna's schemes greatly troubled Sarah. She thought her capable of some mischief, but her being here meant a great deal more than that.

"When it suits me," Seraphina said in a casual tone that conflicted with the rigid tension along her shoulders and her jaw. "And I find that in this present situation that it suits me. Rather well actually."

Her gaze skimmed over Sarah's slender figure clothed in form-fitting black breeches, deep plum shirtsleeves that were not billowy but closely tailored, a black bodice with intricate silver embroidery along the ribs, and dark grey boots laced up to her calves.

"Hm. He's even dressing his doll up to his taste."

Fiachna broke his silent observation of the two wildly disparate women. "As I said, humans sometimes make wonderful playthings. You really think he sees you as more than that? I suppose he has made a promise of 'forever' or some ridiculous tale?"

Sarah tore her eyes away from Seraphina to look at the mage.

"I cannot believe you fell for it! We do not stay with mortals forever, girl. He is spinning lies around you. Did he tell you there was a way to overcome your mortality?" He scoffed. "There is no such thing. It was a lie. No human has ever become like us."

Sarah was not an idiot. At least, _she_ didn't think so…Why on earth would poor Mary know about the possibility if it was just a lie Jareth had made up? Of course, she had said it was only rumour that had caught her ear, but Jareth had let her go once so it wouldn't make sense for him to lie about it. Fiachna wasn't exactly the most truthful creature. Or Seraphina for that matter.

She laughed. Fiachna frowned, and Seraphina lifted one thin eyebrow.

"Would you stop trying to be so typical?" Sarah said once her laughter calmed down. "I know what you're trying to do, and it actually makes you both look like idiots. Did _you_ really think I would believe anything you say? Not after that whole 'Bran' stunt you pulled! And the fact that you're trying to get vengeance on Jareth and using me to do it. Just shut up."

There were a few moments of stunned silence. Then Fiachna pursed his lips and moved forward as if to strike her again. Seraphina stepped into his path.

"Not yet," she said. "Are you such a fool? She is toying with you just as you tried to her. So weak…"

His golden eyes narrowed. "Weak? You are the one who flaunts your weakness for all to see." He leaned close till they were inches away, his hot breath stirring the loose strands of silvery hair. "The Goblin King is your weakness. You will do anything to possess him, and it makes you look the fool."

The air crackled with unveiled hostility like an exposed nerve being tugged and prodded.

Sarah watched the exchange with lips parted in amazement for her enemies had basically revealed the breach in their alliance that could easily be exploited. They were both extremely intelligent creatures, but if she played the right cards, maybe they could be pitted against each other instead of staying united against Jareth—or her: it was difficult to tell who Seraphina wanted to hurt most. One thing that didn't immediately make sense was why the female Sidhe chose to help Fiachna who desired to destroy Jareth if she wanted to be with the Goblin King.

_Maybe destroying Jareth doesn't mean actually killing him_, thought Sarah while her two captors stared death and torment at each other. Fiachna's words from in the dungeon struck her like a bullet to her gut: "_Or I will just kill you when he gets here so the worst damage is done_." If that was the plan, Seraphina would lose what she assumed to be the greatest obstacle between her and her prize and Fiachna would gain his revenge, and both would get what they want. Sarah's stomach twisted.

"Let us not be rude to our guest," Seraphina hissed. She spun around with her back to the mage and turned her ire on Sarah. "She might think us uncouth. Or perhaps she is accustomed to it from her world amongst her own race. Such ignorant, selfish creatures they are."

"And neither of you are selfish, of course," Sarah mocked in a soft voice as if to herself. "Maybe you aren't so different from us humans after all."

Where Fiachna was quick to anger, Seraphina had a level head—most likely due to hundreds of years learning to spar with words and wits rather than physical force. Her tongue was sharp and honed for penetrating to the bone of her opponent.

"So you are so wise and knowledgeable of our world now that you have dwelt here for such a long time. Oh, what has it been? A few months? A year?" Seraphina's voice cut like broken glass. "Do not presume to think you understand. You have lived the time of a mere babe and have no comprehension of the centuries and the millennia that pass us by."

"I don't need to," said Sarah with her gaze confident and her voice steady. "It didn't take long to see that the emotions and motivations of the Tuatha de Danaan aren't any different than that of humans. You may live a lot longer, but the hearts are the same, and that is what matters in the end. I've seen black hearts like both of yours in my world, the people who only care about their own happiness and are willing to trample it in others' lives just to get what they want. That's not really happiness. It's empty when you get there."

Seraphina took two pronounced strides into Sarah's personal space with her long pale skirts swishing along the floor and ran a long, thin finger down her cheek. A trail of iciness followed, so bitingly cold it stung and throbbed and made Sarah flinch away.

"I'm going to enjoy taking your life. All that false bravery and trembling hope gone to waste. Pity…"

"Yes, pity. Now that I see the both of you, I'm not as angry I was. I do pity you though."

For a moment Sarah thought Seraphina's placid calm would break like a chisel to ice, but the blaze in her eyes and the tightness of her lips faded after a few deep breaths. She sneered and left Sarah standing alone in the middle of the circular chamber. Fiachna had gone to one of the cluttered surfaces where black powder fell from his fingertips into a blue glass bottle. His elbow knocked into two others that rattled on the wooden surface, and she wondered what they were for: no doubt for some mischief when Jareth arrived.

_He will arrive, won't he? _

Even though Seraphina had turned her back to the being she considered far beneath her, Sarah sought to gain her attention again as one question burned on her tongue more than any other—and she had plenty of questions, as usual.

"Why?" Her voice echoed up into the spiked roof and broke the uneasy stillness. "Why would you go to the very enemy of the man you want to be with? That's a betrayal he would never forget. Of all the people to help your cause, why him?"

Fiachna's lips curled up as he leaned against the table and gave his full attention to his temporary partner as though daring her to answer truthfully. Seraphina tossed her hair over her shoulder and picked up a strange figurine that was an odd mixture of a serpent and a bird made out of some white stone flecked with gold.

"You view things so narrowly," she said. "If we work together, we both get what we want. It is simple, even for your puny mind."

"Simple isn't always right," said Sarah with a voice Jareth had quickly grown accustomed to even after their first ordeal in the labyrinth. It was firm and unyielding. "You're willing to hurt him to win him. Did you ever think that it wouldn't work?" She took a few steps closer until she stood in a small square of dim light from one of the small windows. "What makes you so sure this will get you what you want? I don't understand."

"Of course you do not." Seraphina slid her hand into a concealed pocket within the folds of her skirts and pulled out a small vial glimmering with clear liquid. "Your mind is limited to the confines of your race and your world, but with our capabilities here in the Underground, there are a number of possibilities. When he is weak, this will be my greatest assistance to gaining what I've desired for so long."

Fiachna's arms fell to his sides, and he cut a hand through the air. "Silence! Are you such a fool as to reveal everything to this wretched creature?"

"What does it matter? She will be dead."

The Raven Mage left his work at the table with the black powder to speak in closer confines with the other Fay. Sarah backed away from them with cautious steps. While they conversed in low tones that they masked with magic so she could not understand, she glanced over her shoulder before she nearly bumped into the workspace Fiachna had just vacated. Her heart pounding and her ears ringing, she reached behind her and grasped one of the bottles full of strange black substance. She didn't know if it was like black powder in her world—gun powder—but it had to be some sort of weapon that could be useful. She shoved it in the back of her pants along the waist and pulled the bodice over. It probably looked ridiculous, but at this point she was willing to attempt anything.

Suddenly Fiachna leaped back from Seraphina, hurried to one of the windows, and threw it open. A raven came in in a rush of feathers and wings and squawking. It made another series of peculiar noises something like squawks and grunts from its perch on Fiachna's shoulder. When it quieted, the mage closed his eyes and spread open his arms.

"At last. The Goblin King has arrived."

* * *

><p>The Goblin King had indeed arrived. And not alone.<p>

As a tawny owl, he alighted upon the bough of a barren tree with silvery bark and a long spindly bole. The raven and the brown owl in his company settled in branches nearby but with a great deal less grace and ease. The brown owl nearly missed the branch altogether and smacked its face into another, but the raven clamped its talons onto a thin perch and shuddered. A few black feathers floated to the ground.

The hideout of the Raven Mage was precisely where Gerdol the Dwarf had said.

In the grasp of a short range of mountains with only one or two peaks dusted with snow and a great expanse of barren slate flanks, a small fortress mainly constructed of a couple prominent towers attached to a basic square structure built of solid stone sat nestled in their shadow. The rough-hewn stones were so near the shade of slate grey of the mountainsides that most eyes would pass over without seeing it, but they had a guide who knew where to search.

Jareth did not miss the ravens that sat like solid obsidian sentinels on the corners of the wall surrounding the miniature fortress that once appeared to be a hold up in the mountains long ages ago. Some rested in other patches of desolate trees closer to the building. Their beady black eyes also did not miss him and the other birds with him. One burst up in a flare of wings into the air and down into the reaches of the fortress walls: no doubt to do his duty as sentry and report to his master.

"Go ahead," Jareth murmured. "Let him know that I come."

It did not bother him for he had a few tricks of his own up his sleeve…

* * *

><p>As soon as Fiachna realised where he was again and saw the two women watching him, he hurried across the chamber to the table with the glass containers filled with black powder. He slipped them inside the folds of his cloak and pointed a finger at Seraphina.<p>

"Take her to the Great Hall as we planned."

"Me? I am not to be seen, you great fool."

"And you will not be," he sneered with a curl of his lip. "Take her and conceal yourself there. Now! There is no more time. He is coming."

"Then go and delay him," Seraphina declared with a lifting of her chin. She glided over to Sarah, and a familiar cold sensation wrapped around her arms, tightening like hard hands on her limbs until she winced. "You will do as you are instructed or things will go much worse for you and your precious king."

"I thought he was _your_ precious king?" Sarah mocked.

The icy bonds tightened, and one formed around her throat like the night of Midsummer's Eve.

"He will be once you are gone."

"If you plan on killing me, then why should I do anything you say? It's pointless."

Seraphina leaned in close. "Because there are plenty of things to cause pain that will not kill you. Don't you wish to see your glorious saviour? Then move!"

Sarah really had no choice since the invisible bonds tugged her along at a harsh pace that seemed of little effort to the Fay woman who stared ahead with dogged purpose and a light kindled in her gaze from the commencement of her plans. Or Fiachna's plans. Sarah didn't know who was really in charge with those two. Sometimes it seemed Fiachna definitely was the one controlling the situation, but then a subtle gleam of intelligence and mockery in Seraphina's countenance made Sarah doubt her first assumption.

_Who really is in control is Lust_, Sarah thought as she was dragged out into the corridor swagged with dark gold drapery along the top of the walls and otherwise bare. Even with boots on her feet she could feel the chill of the dark grey stones seeping through, and a faint draft wafted through the halls of the old fortress. _Lust for vengeance and power and lust for a man highly coveted. She probably wants him for his power too. I guess humans aren't the only ones who get twisted by their vices. I think these guys get a little insane with them though…_

After clattering down a case of stairs that curved downward and through a pair of giant doors that looked as solid and impenetrable as the rock walls surrounding them, Seraphina brought Sarah into what she assumed was the Great Hall. It wasn't as impressive as the vast chambers of the Adamant Palace, but it wasn't too different from the halls of the castle of the Goblin King. In her world she would compare the Adamant Palace and Fiachna's lair to visiting Buckingham Palace and then the ruins of an old castle. This place had the air of abandonment that sat like thick dust on a table and hung musty in the far corners.

The Great Hall was rather spacious with its high ceiling about thirty feet high and its length at least one hundred feet long if not more—Sarah didn't consider herself good at guessing distance. Pillars of stone held up the ceiling on either side, and a row of tall, thin windows lined only the right wall. There was a dais with a seat carved into the rock, but it didn't appear very much a throne with its short back and unadorned surface: not even a cushion or touch of colour. The whole room looked extremely medieval to her eyes.

"Sit there," Seraphina commanded.

Sarah looked into her eyes and did not take a step.

"If you do not willingly do what I say, I will force you." She lifted her hand, and Sarah's unseen restraints jerked her toward the empty seat. "You see? You might as well do as I command."

Sarah glowered at the Fay and walked to the dais. She examined the chair. "Is this some kind of trap? What happens when I sit on it?"

Seraphina almost rolled her eyes and settled with placing a hand on her hip and arching a brow. "Nothing. There would be no point in tricks at this point. The time will come, but you are not the one we're trying to ensnare."

Sarah sat down with a soft thump and did not lean back so the bottle stuffed under her vest and into the waist of her pants wouldn't be crushed or make any noise clanking against the stone. Neither of her captors had noticed the odd bulge in the announcement of their great enemy.

_Jareth. He did come. Everything will be all right._

Seven years ago, she had felt fear as soon as a strange owl had burst through the window and turned into an imposing being, inhuman and slightly menacing. In the labyrinth, she felt fear of failure. Fear for the fate of Toby. And at the end, fear of giving in when she knew the right thing to do. Now fear arose in her breast for the very man who had once frightened her. Fiachna was not a creature of mercy or leniency, and she suddenly was afraid for Jareth and what might be done to him when the two old enemies came face to face for the third and final time.

It wasn't fair that Fiachna brought a second ally and set two Fey against one. She ground her jaw and glared at Seraphina who approached. Could she be the second ally for Jareth? But what could she do to help?

"When he comes, I will be behind you out of sight and the Raven Mage will intercept him at the door, so do not even consider trying any foolish tricks. You are no match for any of us."

_Well, we'll see about that_, she thought.

"Finally, the creature goes silent!" Seraphina cried in false amazement. "How wonderful."

"Why waste my words on someone like you? I'll just wait till Jareth trounces you both."

"So ignorant. One Sidhe against two? The odds certainly are not in his favour."

Their conversation was interrupted by a loud boom. Sarah leaped up from the seat. Seraphina waved a hand, and the icy ropes entwined around her stomach and chest and yanked her against the back of the chair. There they secured her so she could not move. The Fay woman moved behind the stone seat and behind Sarah so that she could no longer see her. Another loud thundering shook the fortress.

"What's going on?" Sarah asked. Her panic made her heartbeat flutter and quicken. "What are they doing?"

"Do not worry, little mortal, the real fight hasn't begun. Fiachna intends it for in here where you can watch."

As if her words had summoned the event, the doors flew open and the Raven Mage himself entered like a king returning home. He even had a majestic facade with his long black and gold robes that were tailored to his muscular figure, and his ebony hair was neatly swept away from his face. His golden eyes were shining with crazed ecstasy that sent a shudder down Sarah's spine. The doors slammed closed behind him, and he stopped in the middle of the Great Hall.

His dramatic entrance was a bit ruined by the sound of laughter that wasn't his.

Sarah's chest swelled with hope and joy at the familiar voice that echoed through the hall like a reverberating song.

A whisper came from the left, and Fiachna whirled towards it.

"The Raven Mage: the would-be lord." The voice suddenly came from the right. "He lays traps for the very Master of Mischief as a fool tries to snare a lion with a rope. Do you hear it Fiachna? The sound of your rope breaking…"

As the voice of the Goblin King faded, a low rumble vibrated beneath their feet and the doors burst open with a great noise like the crash of an ocean wave against the rocks. No one appeared. They could see out into an entry hall and then into the outer courtyard where the gates to the fortress were. The gates hung open. Sarah wondered if that had been the loud booming from earlier.

Fiachna pulled himself out of his shocked silence and licked his lips. "Your tricks do not frighten me!"

"No, but my capability does."

A swirl of wind whistled through the gates, and the Goblin King stood robed in his black leather mantle in the courtyard. Sarah would have been frightened of the image he presented if she didn't know him, but the sight of him sent a shaft of joy lancing through her heart. Her hands tightened on the edges of the seat.

"You cannot enter here without a price being paid," said Fiachna. He raised his hands. "Look! I have the prize you came for. She's still alive and unharmed, but if you try to reclaim her I cannot promise she will remain so. What will you do? Will you risk her life just to get her back? Or will you walk away and forget she ever was?"

The distance between them was great enough that Sarah had to squint to see where Jareth's gaze fell, but she knew in that moment that his haunting eyes stayed on her as a man who sees victory on the horizon of the battle. She smiled and nodded once. The both understood, understood that giving up wasn't an option. If he was willing to risk his life to rescue her, she was willing for hers to be risked in the attempt for she wouldn't hesitate to do the same for him.

"I will pay the price no matter what it costs," the Goblin King declared in a voice that echoed throughout the entire fortress. "Sarah Williams belongs to me."

"Then so be it," Fiachna replied. He actually sounded cheerful.

His hands clenched into fists. The ground under Jareth's feet shook and erupted. Bits of broken stone flew up into the air and froze even as a billow of dust filled the courtyard. When it cleared, there was no sign of the Goblin King. Fiachna's eyes darted around searching for any trace of his enemy, but there wasn't one.

Without a sound or a movement, there he was again, standing closer this time at the doors in the entryway to the fortress. The mage reacted a few seconds later. The doorway collapsed in a thundering crash with one wave of his hand with a few wisps of black powder shooting up from the floor. He moved forward and stopped at the doors to the Great Hall, but his face clouded with frustration after he realised that the heavy stone hadn't fallen on anyone yet again.

"Where are you?" he cried. "Do not be a coward!"

"Here."

"Here!"

"Over here…"

Multiple whispers from all directions struck at Fiachna's ears, and he yelled in rage. "It was never him! Only an illusion. Where is he?"

* * *

><p>Hoggle and Gerdol were still birds while the confrontation began within the fortress. They each held a crystal ball in their talons as they flew down the side of the wall, up and over it, and to a slotted window near one of the back towers. Gerdol as a raven slipped inside, but Hoggle as the owl had a little trouble squeezing through without dropping the crystal.<p>

The clear spheres were rather important and couldn't be dropped until the right moment for Jareth hadn't come to Fiachna's lair without a plan of his own. Immediately after landing in the treetops at their destination, the king had imparted their duties to them quickly and commandingly so that they would not forget and then gave them each a crystal formed from his own hand. The one Gerdol carried was to be broken once they were inside so they would be changed back into their dwarf forms, and the second that Hoggle carried was part of the larger scheme that would take them into the deepest places of the fortress.

Gerdol let his small globe crash onto the floor as soon as they were in a dim room cluttered with old trunks and boxes. It smashed and rose up like a silver smoke around them. They both felt their feathers shrink, their beaks shorten, and their bodies grow outward until they were themselves again. Hoggle chortled and felt his arms and legs in relief. He never wanted to be a bird again! Well, maybe. The flying hadn't been so bad.

"Follow," said Gerdol in his guttural tones. "Be quick."

"I still don't know if I trust you," Hoggle muttered. "Don't know why Jareth did."

"He knows," the dark dwarf murmured with his head lowered to his chest. "He knows what's inside. Gerdol wants to be free."

"That's all very well, but it don't mean I trust you. You'd better lead me to the right place or else Jareth will skin you alive. And me…Sarah! We've got to help Sarah." Hoggle swallowed the lump in his throat as he thought about his very first friend who was now in such danger. He would help save her even if it cost him.

Hoggle followed Gerdol with soft footsteps down a maze of corridors and stairs until they reached one case in particular that led down into darkness. Gerdol pulled out a box of matches and fumbled around on the wall till he grabbed a small lantern that had been left there. With the halo of light guiding them, they hurried down into the deep dungeons and dark tunnels of the Raven Mage's fortress.

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><p><strong>NOTE:<strong> Getting intense, yeah? Let me know what you all think! And what will happen when the real fight begins?

GUESS WHAT? I'm about to get over 300 reviews! That's the most I've gotten for a story on here! Thanks everyone :)


	28. Everything I've Done I've Done for You

**AN: **I'm baaaack! Fond greetings to you all! Man, it was such a great time in Texas, and the wedding was absolutely wonderful; but I am glad to be back. It's so exciting and special when your very best friend for over ten years gets married. Lots of great memories. Anywho, I'm sure you're all awaiting the conclusion to this epic battle! I separated this into two chapters because it's a bit of a beast, so you get quite a nice long chapter today :). Go on and enjoy it!

**Shobgoblynn: **Yes, being wordy is something I'm good at ;). I'll keep an eye out for that sort of thing, although I can't promise I'll notice, haha. I don't do much editing on fanfiction...Thanks for point that out though! Glad you like it!

Special thanks to: **Yuri Amuyu, PheonixBreaker90, XXPay4XtraShippingsXX, She with the hazel eyez, Guest, Kaytori, JennaSoprano, willowrain, CupcakePixie, Marcelisabeth, xBowiex, Rurouni's Bee, Guest, Shobgoblynn,** and** Heart-fractured21**. You guys really have helped make this story a fun, amazing journey!

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><p><strong>Chapter Twenty-seven: Everything I've Done I've Done for You<strong>

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**...**

The cold tendrils wrapping Sarah to the hard seat at the end of the Great Hall lessened ever so slightly: Seraphina's concentration had wavered. It seemed Jareth's tactics were working rather well for subtle signs of fear and doubt bubbled up to the surface in the facades of his enemies. She drew a deep breath to calm her racing heart and shifted. The bottle dug against her lower back and made everything twice as uncomfortable, and she couldn't reach it with the invisible bonds holding her arms down. She didn't even know what it would do or how she would use it, but she instinctively knew that it would be better to have one than to have left them all untouched and in the hands of the Raven Mage.

_Where is Seraphina anyway? Did she make herself invisible or is she right behind me so I can't see her? _

Sarah felt the hairs on the back of her neck rise a little at the thought. As if the maiden Fay wasn't creepy enough…

"Seraphina!" she cried. Either the Fay would answer or perhaps Jareth would hear and understand that he had two enemies to deal with instead of one. She called the name louder. Again and again.

An unseen gag shoved into her mouth when she opened her lips to scream out Seraphina's name again. She shook her head and tried to make a sound but nothing came out. She frowned and clenched her fists. This was just getting ridiculous. As soon as Jareth showed himself and the real battle began, she really hoped it would distract Seraphina enough to get out of these terrible chains that she couldn't even see.

While Sarah was thinking frantically of ways to help, Fiachna's head swivelled in every direction and his feet moved like patters of raindrops all over the ground as he searched in vain for the Goblin King. He could sense his enemy's presence, but he couldn't pinpoint where precisely because he could feel it everywhere. It planted a miniscule seed of uncertainty deep in his chest…

"Show yourself!" he cried. "I will not chase after you, you great fool!" His golden gaze fell on Sarah, and his frantic behaviour calmed as he moved towards her. "If you do not, I will show this mortal what true pain feels like."

Sarah grit her teeth as the mage approached. "You can do whatever you want to me because neither of us is going to give up!" Her eyes widened. "Wait…I can talk…"

"Of course you can," said Fiachna. "I want him to hear your screams."

He flung out a hand. A cloud of black powder pitched into the air around her. Though she tried as hard as she could not to make a sound, a harsh cry tore out of her throat when the strange substance contacted her skin. Everywhere it touched it burned like fire. As she pressed her lips together to keep from screaming anymore, tears welled in her eyes instead as the pain wracked her entire body. It was so excruciating that she barely noticed the high ceiling split in two and roll back like sliding doors with a slow rumble. A bit of shimmer fell down through the crack at the same time a tall shadow loomed down into the hall.

Fiachna turned to face his foe with a triumphant smile. Jareth stood in all his glory at the edge of the newly opened ceiling. Such a ferocity burned in his eyes that even the mage dropped his grin and took a step back before he regained his composure. But it was too late. Jareth motioned with his hand. Two thick vines whipped out from the high opening where faded light poured in and lashed around Fiachna. They reminded Sarah of vines in the forest in the labyrinth back in the Goblin Kingdom, and she shuddered to think of the dark dangers hidden in that place. Fiachna cried out as they rent him through the air up towards his enemy who menaced like a stifling force of anger and valiant resolution that threatened to consume the evil mage.

As soon as Fiachna hovered over something solid, the vines laced with orange lines of fire then burned to ashes. The white specks floated down into the Great Hall, and Fiachna gained firm footing atop the roof across the gap from Jareth the Goblin King. They stood facing each other over the distance as two great storms on route to meet in the sky, and when they met it would be a fearsome tempest that ripped apart everything around it.

"Every flicker of pain you have inflicted upon Sarah Williams, I will inflict a hundredfold upon you," Jareth breathed into the air. It echoed like a promise etched in time.

"Loving this human girl has made you weak, Jareth!"

"Weakness? You've lived long and yet you still are without wisdom, Fiachna. How is it weakness to have something to fight for? What do you have? Yourself? That is a poor substitute indeed and will assure your downfall by my hand, the hand of one who has something worth fighting for."

His words were punctuated by a gale that swirled up around them. It forced Fiachna back a few steps, but he managed to steady himself and arm himself for battle. Shifting black powder poured out from his fingertips and stretched out like black ribbons into the air around him. Jareth already held two clear crystals in his palms and stood with his legs apart in a ready stance for anything that might come his way.

Fiachna flicked his wrist. Two ribbons of powder cracked like whips straight for Jareth. The Goblin King instantly smashed the two crystals in his hands together in front of him. They combined into a silvery transparent shield spanned ten feet in width and ten feet in height before him. The powder struck the wall and exploded in a shower of sparks and fire.

Sarah watched with her lips parted and her eyes riveted on the spectacle high above her that was both terrifying and breath-taking. They all knew that it would come to this eventually, but to see it actually happening brought the reality crashing down around her. Almost literally: a few chunks of rubble crumbled down to the ground, one or two barely missing the seat she was strapped to.

"Seraphina, let me go!" she yelled. She tried to turn her head. "You can't hold me here forever! We could both get hurt if we stay here."

A cool voice whispered in her ear. "I am protected. You are not. What do I care if you are injured by your own lover? It would be poetic. And do not try to fool me: you would never leave him here to go and hide. You are a meddler."

Sarah pulled at the invisible restraints, but they were as strong as ever. Seraphina had no intention of releasing her. _I wish I would've asked him how to defend myself against Fey magic! Without that, I'm worthless…_

Jareth's shield wavered as another blow crashed into it. Jareth smirked. The silver transparency suddenly burst outward at the mage. He hardly had time to block it before it overcame him like a tidal wave.

Some of the fighting was done in ways that mortals could not see, for they could not only wield physical forces but mental and emotional ones as well. Jareth could sense and see dreams and desires in others—not to mention other capabilities—and the rest of his kindred had particular skill in similar areas. Fiachna had tried to force a bout of confusion and forgetfulness on his opponent, yet Jareth saw it just in time and pushed it aside without difficulty. They were only using physical battle to try to distract each other from the real battle between mind and will.

Seraphina glided around into Sarah's line of vision with her head uplifted and her gaze set on the two men above. She flicked a cruel smirk at Sarah before focusing all her attention upward and forming a clump of ice in the air over her hand. She shoved it forward. It flew towards the ceiling and disintegrated once it hit the strong wind tugging at the men's mantle's and hair. The wind grew steadily colder and colder, but it did not touch Fiachna. Jareth's breath came out in pale puffs of cloud, and frost began to form at the edges of his collar and sleeves.

With a glare that put Seraphina's ice to shame, he tore his eyes from the mage and looked down at his second foe who had dared to intervene. Unfortunately, she hastened backwards and hid behind one of the large pillars holding up the Great Hall.

"It's Seraphina!" Sarah yelled as loud as she could. "She's—" Her cries were cut off as the unseen gag filled her mouth again. She groaned and stamped her foot. Her level of frustration had increased to the point of wrath. If she ever got free, that woman was going to get a taste of a nice mortal fist in the face.

When the quake happened, Jareth was the only one who expected it.

A massive explosion shook the foundations of the fortress. The ear-splitting boom was followed by a great shuddering of the stones around them and echoes of the resounding din pulsating outward just as the ground itself rippled. After a pause, a terrific crashing and thundering rent the air as the whole centre of the fortress structure caved in and fell upon itself in a quake of collapsing rock.

The Great Hall was closer to the outer edges, so it was the least affected, but it was the only moment Sarah was thankful she had been stuck in a sturdy chair since the explosion still rocked the whole place. Another handful of chunks fell as they broke away from the ceiling. Fiachna almost toppled from the ledge when part of it gave way beneath him, but he stumbled back.

Seraphina had been knocked off her feet. At the same time Sarah witnessed this, she realised that all the unseen bonds that had bound her were gone. She had no time to think or deliberate. She leaped up off the seat and barrelled straight for Seraphina who was getting back on her feet.

Sarah threw a punch as hard as she could. It landed straight on Seraphina's cheek. The momentum sent the Fay woman flying backwards, and her head smacked into the solid column right behind her with a sickening thud. Her eyes rolled as she crumpled to the floor.

Sarah gasped and bent down to check Seraphina. As much as she despised the creature, she couldn't bear it if she had accidentally killed her. She breathed a sigh of relief when she found a pulse and noticed the sound of breathing coming from her cold lips. The Sidhe was knocked out.

In all the chaos, she hadn't noticed that Jareth had disappeared from the high ledge as soon as the explosion hit. Fiachna also soon vanished.

"And here I had come to help you."

Sarah bounded to her feet and jerked around to a sight most missed that sent her heart racing with joy. Jareth stood only a few feet away, his body seemingly unharmed and his black mantle a little ragged on the edges. She threw herself into his arms before he could utter another word. He caught her and held her tight for a moment before setting her at arm's length again.

"There is no time. Fiachna is not yet defeated. Get out of here. You are far safer outside of this fortress. It may start collapsing more, and I won't have you in any more danger than necessary. Go, Sarah!"

She opened her mouth to protest leaving him on his own but didn't get the opportunity. Fiachna had arrived. He materialised out of the shadows of the pillars not quite across the hall. Jareth placed himself in front of Sarah, and she was reminded of Midsummer's Eve when they were in a very familiar situation. How would it end this time? Because there was no more hiding or running away.

Jareth vanished. Then he stepped out from behind a column right beside Fiachna, grabbed him, and they both disappeared.

* * *

><p>When the two Sidhe ignited a war over the Great Hall, two small dwarfs were in the lower dungeons of the fortress with only a small lantern and a crystalline globe cradled in one of their hands.<p>

Gerdol led the way with the light with Hoggle trailing along close behind with Jareth's crystal carefully gripped in both his hands. He knew that if he accidentally dropped it, Gerdol and he might not make it back to the light of day, and he couldn't bear not being able to say goodbye to his first friend: Sarah Williams. If this was what he had to do to help save her, then this was it. Before he met her years ago, he never would've volunteered to carry out such a dangerous task, but her courage and friendship inspired him. Ever since that first time he did something brave on her behalf in fighting that giant metal goblin, he hadn't quite been the same dwarf. They were friends. And he was going to honour that!

They stopped in a chamber that opened up from a tunnel where a bar with irons stood at the end. The walls were carved from the rock, and a cold draft fluttered through the bars on the door.

"This is it," Gerdol whispered into the dank silence.

Hoggle swallowed hard. This place gave him the creeps. He didn't like it one bit.

The king had given them specific instructions to follow, and the most important one was to wait to drop the crystal until they heard the sound like thunder or stone grinding against stone. On the stairwell they had already heard a loud noise that sounded like some sort of blast somewhere near the front of the fortress, but that wasn't the signal they were waiting for. So they waited in that black chamber without windows where the only thing that disturbed the eerie stillness was the sound of their breathing and the sputtering of the flame in the lantern.

"You think it's time yet?" Hoggle asked. He tapped his foot nervously.

"No."

Another long stretch of quiet.

"What if we missed it?"

"No."

Hoggle puffed out a breath and opened his mouth to say something more to the rather reticent companion, yet that's when they heard it. It sounded as if a large rock wall was moving aside or the ground was opening up; although it also seemed distant through the dense layers of floor and wall between them.

"That's it!" cried Hoggle. "Now!"

Gerdol didn't wait another second and began running back the way they came. Hoggle yelled in frustration since the light was going with him, and he tossed the crystal as far across the room as he could. It smacked to the hard ground and rolled until it tapped against the far wall by the door. Hoggle's mouth dropped open as his heart thumped like horse hooves in a race, then he flailed his arms and darted after Gerdol. They barely made it to the stairwell that led back up to the main levels when it hit.

The explosion numbed their ears and bellowed like some massive beast that burst through the surface of the earth and tore stone from stone as if they were parchment. The dwarfs got thrown from their feet. Hoggle clapped his hands over his ears as he laid on the uncomfortable steps and huddled against the wall, but he didn't see Gerdol for a few minutes in the aftermath: he was in a strange hazy state that gradually faded.

Then he saw him. Hoggle crawled forward and touched Gerdol's hairy black arm that showed through the shredded sleeve of his tunic. A trail of blood dripped from his chest, and dust that still settled in the air of the stairwell had sprinkled him grey.

"Are…are you all right?" asked Hoggle. He knew it was a foolish question when there was blood in sight, but he didn't know what else to say.

Gerdol grunted and shifted. He sat up at last, some bits of rubble scattering off him. He winced, and his face screwed up with pain, but he did not make another sound.

"Not good. Not good at all," Hoggle muttered. "Eh…does it hurt much?"

"Gerdol is fine."

"Oh, I knew this would go all wrong! Shouldn't have had us do it, he shouldn't! I always get it wrong."

"Must move soon. The rock isn't stable."

"Oh. Right. You're very right."

Hoggle helped him to his feet, and they trudged their way up the steps until they reached the ground level where they had entered in as a raven and an owl. Hoggle breathed easier seeing sunlight again, but it sounded as if Gerdol was having the opposite issue with his breathing: it seemed a bit ragged. Gerdol stumbled, so Hoggle reached out to steady him with a firm grip. His brows drew down as he studied his fellow dwarf in the clearer light of day. The blood was dark crimson shining on the dark dwarf's tunic leaking from a deep gash on the right side of his chest, and his right arm didn't look so well either with its scratches and missing sleeve.

"What do we do now?" said Hoggle with a deep sigh.

"This way," Gerdol grunted.

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><p>Fiachna blinked and gathered his bearings after Jareth snatched him and transported them somewhere. They were still in the fortress, of course, but it took him a moment to realise where he was and that the Goblin King was nowhere in sight. He could not have gotten far, though, so the mage prepared himself against attack and reached out with his mind to sense his opponent. It was a bit muddled, yet his instinct was correct: Jareth was close.<p>

He crept forward to one end of the broad corridor that he'd landed in. His feet made no sound, and he heard nothing. Step by step he slowly edged to the corner, his pulse rapid and his blood afire for the battle. The thought of his enemy's blood spilt by his hand and the grief he could cause roared in his ears even as he pressed his back against the wall. He inched his head forward to the edge.

His breathing quickened. He peered around with one eye, then jerked his head back.

No one. Nothing around the corner.

Fiachna darted on swift feet down to the other end to take a glance around that corner except that the corridor ended and split two ways. This would be the worst part. He couldn't look both directions at once, and it could take that one instant for his enemy to gain the upper hand and catch him off guard. He growled low in his throat. This was where Seraphina was supposed to help and be the second pair of eyes and hands, but that wench had somehow ended up unconscious on the floor after the explosion that shook the entire fortress. Useless!

He stopped a few feet from the exposed mouth of the hallway and risked closing his eyes for a moment or two to sharpen his senses to search out the Goblin King. While he listened, his task was accomplished for him by his very quarry.

"Looking for me?" A harsh laugh echoed all around. "I am the King of the Goblins, Master of Mischief and maker of the renowned labyrinth! Did you really think you could lay a trap for me? Did you really believe it would work?" Another laugh resounded from a different direction.

"Did you really think you could distract and confuse me?" Fiachna spit out as his eyes flew open. "You have all your tricks, but they can't help you now."

He readied a particularly nasty attack in his hands that would spew out liquid fire and rushed out into the open facing the right. He threw the black powder from his hands. A tall, pale-haired figure darted inside an open doorway right before the liquid fire could touch him. What the mage didn't notice was the crystal ball that rolled down the hall towards him as soon as he had stepped out to be seen. It was too late by the time he saw it gleam in the light from one of the windows.

It sent him flying back. He landed on the stone floor with a painful crash. Dark green vines entwined and grew around his limbs, binding him like cords until they began to rip right through his clothes. He roared and pulled on the dark power that he had long absorbed until it suffused his thoughts and broke the vines off of him.

Jareth stood watching from down the hall. Fiachna sent a haze of fear and doubt to the king. Jareth narrowed his eyes and walked right through it. He stalked towards the mage like a graceful predator closing in on its prey.

Fiachna differed from Jareth in a lot of ways, but one of those was his use of weapons for he had gone so long being weaker in his abilities that he grew accustomed to carrying real weapons on his person. Today was no different. Whatever advantage he could have over his enemy, he had considered it. He drew out a long dagger from his robes and threw it straight and true.

Jareth cried out. The dagger struck him in the ribs. He pulled the long narrow blade out and made it disappear. A trickle of blood flowed from the fresh wound down his stomach and to his leather belt.

"We are beyond the power of mortals, but we still are flesh and blood," spat Fiachna. He rose up from the ground with his black mantle like a shadow following. "First blood is mine."

Jareth's lips curled into a sneer as his gaze scanned the mage. "I think you'll find that that was mine."

The mage looked down and saw that the vines had cut into his arms right through the black cloth of his robes, and a bit of bright blood stood stark against his skin on each arm. His hands curled into fists, and he glared at Jareth from under his dark brows.

"No matter. You may have had the first, but I will have the last."

The Goblin King laughed a scornful laugh just before vanishing. The Raven Mage cursed and followed where he sensed Jareth had gone. He appeared in another room that was abandoned with smaller versions of the pillars in the Great Hall upholding the roof and a smell of ancient air untouched for hundreds of years. He hid behind one of the columns that was barely the width of a man, a handful of black powder in his right hand.

Part of the pillar cracked as a terrible impact hit it directly. Fiachna flinched and pulled his shoulders in closer. Another powerful blow blew a few bits of stone right off the column and a puff of dust into the mage's face. He coughed and spun around the other side to send his own round of ruses in the direction Jareth's had come from.

"You cannot run forever!" Fiachna yelled over the din. "This will end today, and it will end with one of us taking the other's life!"

* * *

><p>Since Sarah had been left alone with Seraphina, she wouldn't take any chances. She tore off strips of Seraphina's skirt and bound her as tight as she could at the wrists and ankles even though she knew that they wouldn't do much good if the Sidhe woman awoke. Would she have the courage to knock her out again? The first time had been an accident since Sarah wasn't exactly used to fighting off people trying to kill her. She would do all she could to protect Jareth and herself, but she did not want to take a life if at all possible. It just wasn't her. If she needed to for their defence…She shook away the thought and focused on tying secure knots in the strips of cloth.<p>

"Maybe there's something in that room we were in," she murmured to herself.

There had been a collection of liquids and unknown substances bottled and corked on the table surface where Fiachna made his blue bottles full of powder. She could also remember where it was, and it wasn't too far from the Great Hall. She took one last look at the unconscious Fay before dashing away to the circular chamber.

Once, she had to stop and rethink her decision when the building trembled and a few pieces of rubble tumbled down. The explosion hadn't destroyed these passages yet, so she hoped that chamber remained intact.

When she got to it, her heart dropped. Where it had stood, a great pile of collapsed wall rose up without a single hole or opening. That room was completely blocked. She chewed her lip and pulled out the bottle she'd stashed in her belt to take another look at it. She still had no idea what it could do, but it was the only thing she had now.

"It's Fiachna's manifestation of his ability as a Sidhe. But that could mean anything! Let's see. Think, Sarah! Why would he put it in a container? What's the point? It's transparent glass, so it's obviously not for a disguise. He can use it fine without a bottle just from his hands."

An image of a Molotov cocktail brushed against the back of her mind, and she carefully held the bottle up to the light coming through the windows left in the corridor. The black powdery substance had a subtle shimmer to it, and it dawned on her that the bottle might be for some sort of compression or pressurisation to cause a greater reaction from whatever ploy lay in the sandy element. Were these what caused the fiery explosions that ripped apart the courtyard and main doors?

"And I've had it tucked in my back this whole time!" she scoffed. She glanced around her and decided quickly to go back to the Great Hall. If Jareth was leading the mage in a game of cat and mouse around the fortress grounds, it would be unlikely to find them, so she chose to go back to her temporary prisoner. Strange how their roles had reversed.

Sarah laughed, and her eyes shone with mischief as an idea came rushing to the forefront of her thoughts. "That's it! Oh Seraphina, you have no idea what's about to happen to you…"

She ran to the Great Hall where the Sidhe still lay crumpled. Sarah tucked the bottle back into her belt and knelt by Seraphina's still form. Her pale hair splayed around her head, and the silken fabric of her gown rippled over her body, which didn't conceal much so it made it easy for Sarah to find what she was looking for.

A small vial with clear liquid and a silver stopper glittered in the light as she pulled it from some hidden pocket in Seraphina's dress, the same vial that the Fay had shown off earlier. The vial that held some sort of love tonic—at least that's what Sarah assumed from Seraphina's own admission to using it on Jareth once their plan succeeded.

"Guess what, Phina? Is it all right if I shorten your name? It's a bit of a mouthful saying it all the time, and I'm not calling you 'Sera' because that would be weird and confusing. Anyway, you are going to have quite the surprise when you wake up. I wish you had said how this stuff works, but I'm going to have to make a guess because _you_ are getting a taste of your own magic. Literally and metaphorically."

Sarah lifted Seraphina's head, pried open her lips, and poured the clear liquid into her mouth. She gently placed her head back on the ground. What was she supposed to do? There had to be something more to make it more specific. She tore another strip of cloth from the skirts to make a blindfold that she put around the Fay's eyes just in case it had something to do with sight.

And who did she want to use? Not Jareth since the being already had some warped feelings for him which she didn't want to risk getting twisted even worse. The Raven Mage? He would die today.

"It would serve you right to fall in love with him and watch him die," Sarah murmured to the unconscious woman. She sighed and dropped her head. "But I can't do it. You would have, but I don't want to be like you: hard and cold and without mercy. So who should you adore?"

Another idea struck her. Her lips trembled from curbed laughter bubbling up in her throat.

"Oh yes. I have just the thing for you…"

In hopes that the liquid was triggered by words, Sarah leaned down and whispered a name…

* * *

><p>While Sarah dealt with Seraphina, a strange occurrence developed on the other side of the castle fortress.<p>

Jareth and Fiachna strove against each other in a large gallery with forces mostly unseen. Their wills clashed and billowed as they each fought for mastery. A drop of sweat dripped down the mage's temple, and Jareth felt his legs tremble as his blood continued to flow from the knife wound between his ribs. One hand pressed against it, but there was no time to treat it. It did not matter for Jareth's entire concentration centred on Fiachna and overcoming him unto death. Sarah was not safe until this creature was gone. And he had hurt her, the love of his life who had brought such hope into his eternity.

Their struggle got interrupted. Two small, stocky figures burst into the gallery.

Hoggle and Gerdol gaped at the scene.

"Blimey!" exclaimed Hoggle.

"Would you look at that?" said Fiachna with a raised eyebrow and a curl of his lips. "Our little slaves have come back to us. I must say I'm surprised you brought yours and that you didn't kill mine as soon as you got here."

The mage turned his back on the dwarfs to fully face his foe, but it was a move he would regret.

Gerdol stunned them all. His short legs sprinted over the space, he pulled out a knife from his belt, and jumped onto Fiachna's back with a great battle cry that pierced their ears. He drove the knife into the mage's back with a ferocious stab and a terrible rage darkening his face. Fiachna screamed in a hideous jumble of pain and wrath as he reached behind and threw the dwarf from his back. In an instant, he took the knife out of his own flesh and brought it down into the chest of Gerdol.

Hoggle staggered back. Jareth watched with impassive features cast in stone as the mage spun around with bloodlust burning in his gaze and his breath coming out in gasps. He bore the image of a cornered creature, wounded and dangerous in his last hour before death.

"It is time that mortal girl had a visit. She must be lonely in that great big hall," Fiachna hissed through his teeth. He disappeared with a flourish of his cloak. Jareth followed, leaving the dying dwarf on the hard ground and the living watching with clouded eyes in a state of disbelief. It was a terrible, abrupt quiet where death slowly breathed into the room like a cold wind.

Hoggle bent over the fallen figure of Gerdol whose chest barely rose and fell with breath. Gerdol's stern, craggy features softened as a small smile finally touched the barren planes of his face for the first time in a hundred years. He stared up at his fellow dwarf with black eyes glinting.

"Freedom," he whispered, a faint wind passing from his lips. "Free at last."

The words died on his tongue even as one last long gasp of air fell out of his mouth. His eyes closed. His body stilled.

Hoggle bowed his head and touched a fist to his brow in a sign of honour amongst the dwarves. He patted the dead dwarf's chest and stared off unseeing into the distance.

* * *

><p>The time had come. The last stand of the Goblin King versus the Raven Mage. Death had taken one already from the dreary, abandoned fortress high in the mountains and waited upon the threshold for he who would follow.<p>

Neither held anything back any longer. It was a fight for their lives. Not an ounce of hesitation or mercy remained, and Sarah Williams stood apart bearing witness to the epic encounter with her own life in the balance.

Fiachna had no time to get to her for Jareth arrived at the same second and rolled a crystal at his feet. It circled around the mage in one complete ring. The shimmering trail it left sent up a faint mist that curled up into the air around Fiachna's face. He covered his mouth and nose with the sleeve of his robe, but he'd already breathed some in, and its effects were immediate. His eyes fought to stay open, and his body swayed as his knees weakened from the sleeping smoke that entered his lungs. However, he fought fiercely against it.

With one swipe of his hand, a ring of fire laced around the circle left by the sleeping smoke and devoured it. With the flames still dancing around his feet, the mage sent a cloud of black silt from his hands at the Goblin King with a frightening roar that burst out of his chest. Jareth seemed to catch it as with an invisible net and turn it aside. It hit the nearest pillar and blew it into oblivion.

A dart of light came at the mage, and he didn't quite block it in time. He growled in pain as it lanced across his chest as he tried to spin aside. He panted and clutched at his chest as blood seeped out. The pain intensified, and he realised that it hadn't been a simple blade but a crystal one touched with a curse that infected his bloodstream with agony.

The ceiling over Fiachna dropped rapidly straight for him. He reacted at once and made a barrier that knocked the gigantic chunk of stone aside. Unfortunately, he sent it flying straight at Sarah.

She jumped aside and rolled on the ground just as the massive hunk sped by and shattered against the far wall behind her. A little debris rained on her, but she didn't even notice. She lifted her head and looked at Jareth who finally turned his gaze on her. It was the very first time she had seen any hint of worry in those sharp features, and it sent a ripple of warmth through her at the very same time an arrow of fear pierced her heart.

Fiachna grinned his feral grin at the discovery of a new tactic. Another piece of the ceiling broke away and headed straight for her. Even as she crouched to get out of its path, it turned to dust at the flick of Jareth's hand. A giant column close to her suddenly collapsed. She ran to the left, and it too was deflected by a quick intervention from the man she loved.

Everything was happening so quickly that there was hardly a moment to breathe. Then Fiachna stopped. The tumult from the stone being ripped apart and crumbling settled. Sarah caught her breath as she stood shaking and watching every move of the two men. The Raven Mage turned to Jareth.

"Did you think that I didn't have anything else? Why would I lure you here without a plan in mind? I am not such a fool." He spread out his arms even though it greatly pained him to do so. "Surrender or I will use my last defence on you and that little mortal of yours. I concocted something rather special just for you, old friend, and it will burn the life out of you."

Sarah's attention wavered towards the seat that she had been bound to earlier, and her chest tightened. A glimmer had caught her eye in the shadows behind the chair carved of stone: the same seat that Jareth had been driven back towards and stood so little distance from. It all tumbled down around her at once, and she gasped for breath as the realisation threatened to drown her in despair. Those bottles that Fiachna had filled with the essence of his power sat at the base of that strange throne, and he would trigger them if Jareth didn't surrender. Jareth would certainly die for he had no warning, no idea what had been planned.

Sarah studied his face: the aristocratic nose, the set line of his mouth, the sculpted cheeks, and the luminous blue eyes that could be both fire and ice. Then she considered the man behind the face: the spark of mischief behind his gaze, the ancient years with knowledge and wisdom written in his voice, the impatience of a Fay, the majestic bearing of a king, a hungry curiosity kindled by intrigue, a smooth charm that dripped from his artless confidence, and the sincere depths of love that hid in the deepest places of his heart that he had shared with her. Her. A mortal woman from the Aboveground. He was magnificent. He was with faults, of course, but he wouldn't have been so perfect for her without them. He'd given himself to her in so many ways that she took so long to see, and now that she had done the same, it was about to be taken from them.

But there was one last way that she could give herself for him.

Sarah knew what she had to do.

As the mage and the king faced off in silence wrought with visceral tension, a simple, brave young woman stepped out. She went forward and stood near Fiachna. With trembling hands she pulled the blue bottle of black silt out of her belt and held it behind her back.

She held the attention of her very own Goblin King for a few moments of precious time where it was only them and the rest of the Underground drifted away. "Jareth, get out of here. He's telling the truth. I saw him making something before you came, and if you don't go we will _all_ die here. Get back. Get back!" She swallowed hard and blinked away the tears that welled up in her eyes.

"Sarah," he spoke in his commanding tone with a raised hand, "do not do anything rash. Get away from him."

"And let you die? I don't think so. Not today." She whipped out the bottle and aimed it for the ground between them.

The mage's face blanched, and his eyes widened. This had not been part of his plan.

"You know I won't hesitate," she said directly to him with a severity in her voice that even he wavered at. There was no doubt she would if it meant saving the Goblin King.

"No doubt," he murmured. He swallowed hard as his eyes flicked back to his old enemy. "Make your choice, Jareth. One of you will die. Would you sacrifice your love to kill your enemy? Or will you give up your own life? Make your choice! Or I will make it for you!"

Jareth stood as a man turned to stone. It was the longest two minutes of Sarah's lifetime.

"Sarah Williams," said Jareth in a voice now softened and intimate. His eyes spoke deafeningly of his affection for her and of a grief pooling quickly behind. It made her exceedingly afraid. "I have never loved anyone as I love you. I will always love you more than my own existence. Do not forget it. And I made a vow to myself, a vow that if I had to give my life to save you, I would. I am going to make sure that you are safe."

A blinding light. A horrific uproar. A sensation of being moved through time and space.

Everything stilled. There was complete silence.

Sarah gasped for breath. Her eyes flew open.

And stared up at the ceiling of her apartment bedroom.

* * *

><p><strong>NOTE:<strong> Yes, I'm quite aware you all either want to kill me, hug me, or both. Probably more of the first. But I did promise a happy ending, so stop your worrying! ;) Just wait and see, dearies. Wait and see...

Oh and if you watch Doctor Who, I'm putting in a shameless plug for a video I made for the Doctor and Rose (LOVE those two: such a wonderful story). It's on Youtube and here's the link (just delete the spaces): www youtube com/ watch? v=7i_ JDAO81Hg. Please share, pin, or just go and enjoy! That would be awesome!


	29. We're Choosing the Path Between theStars

**A/N**: I know, I know...Worst cliffhanger ever. But it certainly keeps you all hooked! My evil plan has succeeded! Okay, well it wasn't really the plan, but you don't have to worry about anymore of those because this is the last chapter of _In Search of New Dreams_ except for the epilogue which will follow soon. I can't believe it's pretty much over! It's good though because all things come to an end and I'd rather it be like this than dragging it out, haha. This chapter gave me some difficulty because I try to avoid doing cheesy dialogue, but sometimes love stories just have it and there's no getting around it. Love can be totally cheesy! Just go with it! :D And I really wanted to wrap things up with the ending all you awesome, wonderful readers deserve after sticking through me through this whole thing. Hope it's fantastic! It's extra long too. Whoa. Monster chapters for the end apparently.

**Segeine:** Haha, well encouraging me to update this once it was written was good enough for me :). And voila! Thank you very much! Happy to hear you've been enjoying the story!

**Hotforteacher3:** Fiend! Aha, you might not feel the same after today's update ;). Haha! Oh, it's fixed, all right. Quite nicely too, for our lovely couple anyway. Not so much for a certain mage...

My sincerest thanks and lots of hugs and cyber cakes to all you who reviewed last time: **Hotforteacher3, Segeine, Jaden Kismet, Melissa72, JennaSoprano, Kinzichi, willowrain, avulgarism, DaniellaPeirce, Lizzie, sheniyag, The Queen of Water, Kaytori, PhoenixBreaker90, XXPay4XtraShippingsXX, She with the hazel eyez,** and** Kate499**. You all encourage me so much in keeping the story going and doing a good job on it!

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter Twenty-Eight: We're Choosing the Path Between the Stars<strong>

**...**

**...**

A memory of light, deafening sound, heat, shifting space, and sorrow seared Sarah William's mind and heart like a fiery brand. She opened and closed her eyes a few times as she lay completely still on her back atop what felt like her own mattress and blankets and stared up at the off-white ceiling.

An instant later, as the memories and realisations all engulfed her like a wave of the ocean crashing over her while she tried to struggle to the surface to breathe, she shot up off the bed. She nearly fell to the floor: her legs felt like some strange rubbery substance and a wave of nausea swept through her. She sat on the edge of the mattress and frantically searched the room, her own room in the apartment she shared with her best friend Amber.

"No. No, no, no…" She closed her eyes tight and placed her cold hands on her temples, realising at once just how much she was trembling; yet it wasn't from trauma. It was from the rising tide of horror. The horror of her situation.

She stood to her feet and rushed to the window in hopes that it would be an episode like the Junklady with the false room trying to distract her from what was really going on. But it wasn't. Once the curtains tugged open, the pale moon shone through the glass pane and highlighted her ivory skin that had gone ghostly white at the sight of her own world staring back at her.

"No!" she screamed. "I can't be here!"

Sarah dropped to her knees in the pool of moonlight on the carpet. She was again in that lavender dress she had worn to the wedding back when everything changed and she was drawn into the Underground for another adventure that would forever alter her existence. She gripped a handful of the soft skirts of the dress as anguish tore ragged strips right across her soul.

Although the sorrow threatened to overwhelm her as her shock wore off, she would not yet give up. She shakily scrambled up a second time to stand in front of the mirror on her wall.

"Hoggle! Ludo! Sir Didymus! Anyone? It has to work now!" Her fingers touched the reflective surface that showed only her spectral likeness with haunted eyes and tousled dark hair. Her voice dropped to a soft whisper. "Jareth? Where are you? Jareth!"

"Sarah? Sarah, is that you?"

Sarah froze at the sound of Amber's voice heading for her bedroom. She didn't even think before she darted to the bed and dove under the covers to pretend she was asleep. As happy as she was to hear Amber's lovely voice and to see her best friend after being gone for so many months, she knew she would break down into a weeping mess but not be able to explain why. Not now. It was too much…

"Sarah?" Amber knocked lightly on the door. "Are you in there?"

After another soft knock, Sarah heard the door gently creak open. Amber gave a soft 'oh' and closed the door as soon as she saw a familiar head of long dark hair on the pillow across the room. Sarah squeezed her eyes shut and pulled in a shuddering breath. Her hand slowly reached up to touch her face when a few hot tears streaked down her cheeks onto her pillow: tears that she tried so hard to keep at bay, but the breaking of her heart was too deep and sharp to ignore.

As soon as it was clear Amber had gone off somewhere else in the apartment, Sarah sat against the door to listen and wait. The amount of time that then passed did not register to her as she stared straight ahead devoid of life and emotion, but it was a while before she heard Amber close her own bedroom door to go to sleep. A half an hour later, Sarah fumbled around for a pair of sneakers, a jacket, and her purse. As quietly as she could, she crept out into the hall and to the front door which mercifully opened without hardly a sound.

Sarah drove and drove. The stars wheeled above, and the car lights pierced through the dark as she sped down the road in the late hours of the night. She'd rolled the windows down to let the cold air bluster against her skin and toss her hair as if it could somehow shock her out of this dream so she could go back to that old fortress in the mountains where the love of her life had fought to save her.

"_I am going to make sure that you are safe."_

What had he meant? She couldn't even consider that he had given his life. She just…couldn't…

Another tear dropped to her lap. She wiped at her eyes and tightened her hold on the steering wheel.

"He's not dead," she said to herself aloud. "Jareth is alive. And I'll…I'll see him again."

The drive was long, but there was no possibility of her sleeping tonight anyway, and she refused to stay still, so she went to the only place she could think of to hold on to the last threads that connected her to the Underground. She would not give up. There had to be something.

Her car pulled to a stop in a small parking lot. There were only a few lights out here: lampposts that stood like sentinels against the night. They cast deeper shadows that merged with the silhouettes of the old trees and subtly lit the winding path that curved all around the park. She'd long ago lost count of how many times she'd come here since she was a little girl and of all the years afterwards when she sought refuge in the greenery and open grass.

Sarah made her way to one of the old stone bridges and sat down with her legs hanging over the side only a few feet above the water.

This was where it had all began when she was a kid. Jareth had seen the hurting little girl and granted her a thin red book that even he didn't know the full consequences of. He had inadvertently set the course of their future together and entwined their destinies with his one moment of compassion, an act that would guarantee their meeting and rewrite his lonely future.

As the shock wore off the longer she sat there, the hard band wrapped around her finger finally drew her full attention, and she stared with longing and memory at the intricate crystal and diamond ring still on her hand. It was still there! She hadn't lost it in the transfer of worlds. It was like a rope attached to the Underground, a light in the dark that shone with hope and possibility. This represented the love Jareth and she had promised to each other forever. It both comforted and saddened Sarah to her very core.

"Jareth, why am I here? Please come get me. Don't leave me here without you. Please! I don't even know what happened to you. What if…what if you're gone?"

Only the chill night air and the quiet gurgle of the stream answered Sarah Williams.

* * *

><p>Amber greeted her roommate with anxious enthusiasm when she trudged inside in the morning. Amber gaped a minute in astonishment at the appearance of her friend whose hair was a bit wild, no makeup, the same dress from the day before paired with an odd combination of sneakers and jacket, and dark circles underscoring her dull eyes.<p>

"But you…you were in bed last night when I checked," Amber exclaimed. "And you're in yesterday's clothes still! Actually, sorry, why don't we sit down with some coffee or something. You don't look so good…"

Sarah laughed, but it was a hollow and brief sound. Amber frowned and helped her sit down at their little table. She hurriedly poured two cups of coffee and added milk and sugar the way Sarah liked it. Once she set the mug in front of her poorly looking friend, she plopped in a chair across from her and did another inspection.

"I have a lot of questions actually," she began. "Like, where did you go yesterday? First, we're at a wedding, and then all of a sudden you and Bran are gone. We thought you two were just having some quality time together—you know, since I've been hoping you two would hurry up and get together—but even after the reception was over, we couldn't find either of you. I called here to see if you were back home, but no one answered, so we called Bran's number but got the same thing."

Sarah rubbed at her eyes and placed her frozen hands around the steaming mug of coffee. Not only was her posture bent and weary, but Amber saw the same things reflected in her eyes, and it worried her more than she liked to admit. It was as though Sarah suddenly was a lot older and carried some weight that no one understood. Amber shuddered.

"I'm sorry. I really am," Sarah finally said after a heavy sigh. "Yesterday was just…a really bad day."

"We don't have to talk about it if you don't want to."

"No, it's okay. Bran," she hesitated as if even saying the name was painful, "isn't who we thought he was. I don't ever want to see him again. Or even hear his name."

Amber's mouth dropped open as a terrible thought struck her. "Sarah! Did he…you know…did he hurt you? What happened? If he hurt you, I'm going to make sure he—"

"Not in the way you're thinking," Sarah interrupted. "He's so angry, so vengeful, and so…inhuman, but he's very good at being deceitful too. Don't you dare blame yourself either. None of us could have known what he was really like. It's over now."

She absentmindedly touched her chest where her heart was.

"Where is he? Sarah, if he did try anything, we should call the police."

"I don't know where he is," Sarah murmured as if somewhere distant. "Like I said: it's over now. I don't want to even hear his name again."

"Fair enough. I wish you'd tell me what happened, but we'll just forget about him and let it go. I still would like to give him a piece of my mind though! Right, well, anyway…where were you this morning? You must have gotten up pretty early."

"I went out for a while, to think about things and to just get out of the apartment."

"Yeah, I should've known." Amber smiled. "You do that a lot when you need to think or deal with something. I hope it helped. If there's anything I can do, please let me know. Maybe we could have a girls' night or something later? Get your mind off things."

Sarah shook her head. "Not tonight. Maybe tomorrow."

Amber nodded and sipped at her coffee. Sarah hadn't even touched hers, but her hands still clutched the mug rather tightly. Amber reached out to place her hand over Sarah's. It worried her to see all the light gone from those lovely green eyes.

"I'm sorry for whatever happened. I wish I could do more."

* * *

><p>The days began slipping through Sarah's fingers like a handful of sand for no matter how hard she tried to hold onto them, more and more slid past. One day turned into two, then three, and before she knew it two weeks had gone by since she woke up in her bed in her own world. Two agonizing weeks of inner torment and grief that no one else could understand because she couldn't tell anyone what really had happened unless she trusted someone with the truth of the Underground. She didn't want to add friends or family thinking she was a lunatic to the list of troubles weighing down her heart. Would anyone even believe a word she said if she tried to explain? The only proof was the ring that hung on a chain around her neck under her clothes, but would that be enough?<p>

The first three nights she actually slept, she fell asleep clutching the leather-bound _Labyrinth_ in her hand. Now it sat back in a drawer where she couldn't see it. For those first few days her grief had been delayed or tempered by the light of hope that kept away the darkness, hope that the Goblin King would appear and take her home with him. That hope died a little more each day that passed until the night at the end of those two weeks when nothing held back her sorrow anymore.

She broke. It was midnight, Amber was asleep in her own room, and there was no moon in the sky. She was in the dark.

Sarah wept until there were no more tears. Her pillow was wet, and the deep ache in her heart spread over her chest and up into her throat. It was an anguish that clenched her very soul and made her heart feel as if it would collapse under the weight.

If Jareth had lived through whatever cataclysmic event that transpired in that moment she got sent back here, wouldn't he have come back for her by now?

And that was the thought that drove a blade deep into the recesses of her being.

The man she had fallen so in love with, the one she had basically agreed to marry to spend the rest of her life with, was not likely to be alive.

Her gaze caught on the mirror on the wall, and it reminded her of those days when her three friends from the Underground would appear in the reflection, she would turn around, and there they would be in the room with her. She stared for hours into the mirror hoping that Jareth would materialise behind her, she would spin around, and there he would be standing in the room ready to take her home.

_I didn't need him then like I needed the others. But now...now I do. He spoke of living up to my expectations of him and how exhausting it was, but now I have no expectation of him except that he just is, that he just be himself. I need you, Jareth! You can't be dead. I need you…_

* * *

><p>In all those months in the Underground, Sarah had almost forgotten what had been happening in her life in her own world. The harsh reality did nothing to soothe her grief. She still didn't have a job and school was still underway, so she had to go to her classes and do her work as if nothing had changed. If she didn't find a job soon, her situation would get more difficult since she had to pay rent and survive through college. By the end of the second week since she'd been back, she threw herself into her schooling like she never had before to distract herself from the tragedy eating away at the edges. However, she held out on finding a job just a little longer as if it was the last bit of hope to cling to, to imagine that she wouldn't need one because Jareth would come for her soon. She couldn't give that up yet. Not yet.<p>

Although she still grieved the loss, Sarah had come to a point where she knew she had to live life and be strong even when no one was watching. It may not have seemed fair, but life wasn't fair. It was a lesson she learned years ago in a strange labyrinth…So she persevered, and Sarah Williams grew up a little more each day.

Amber and Sarah had a couple classes together, and while one of those finished, Sarah got caught up in remembering the nightmare she'd had the night before. They were all at that last battle in the dark fortress up in the mountains. Jareth and Fiachna fought while she stood to the side helpless and having to watch. The end of the nightmare was always the same: Fiachna killed Jareth in a blaze of light and fire and pain. It woke her up every time with tears on her cheeks.

"Sarah?"

Sarah jerked her head up.

"Class is over," said Amber. She laughed. "You were off in some other world there for a second."

"Oh, sorry. I guess I was."

She gathered up her bag and books and walked with Amber out of the classroom.

Amber fingered her blonde hair after stopping to look at some announcements and advertisements posted on a board just outside. Her eyes lit up, and she pointed at one of the decorated papers that had large, bold letters on it.

"Look at this! Someone told me about it, but I didn't think it was this soon. It's a costume bash! Doesn't that sound fun? It's going to be at the Pearl Ballroom downtown in two and a half weeks. Sarah, we should totally go to this!"

Sarah barely registered what her friend was saying since she was still trying to rid herself of the terrible images from her nightmares. "Hm. Maybe so."

Amber rolled her eyes and nudged her friend's shoulder. "Don't sound so excited. We are going and that's that. Michael works that night, so don't worry about the whole third wheel thing. We can go together: just us girls."

"A costume bash?" It finally hit Sarah what exactly Amber had said. At least it wasn't a masquerade, but it still reminded her too sharply of memories that pained her. "Um, I'm not sure I want to go. I don't have a costume, and I just…"

"Nonsense!" Amber declared. "I said we're going, so we are definitely going. You need to get out and do something anyway since you've decided to hole up these last couple weeks. It'll be fun! And don't worry about costumes! We _are_ part of the drama department, so I'm sure Mindy will lend us a couple costumes that haven't been used in a while. There's a whole room full."

Sarah wanted to protest more, but she could see that Amber wouldn't hear a word of it. She was probably right too. Maybe she did need to get out and do something more than drowning herself in school work. But did it have to be a costume-themed event? It almost was like rubbing salt in the wound, and she determined to take any route out of going if at all possible. By then it would have been a month since she returned, but a deeply broken heart was not something that healed in a month; especially when so much of that month was spent waiting and hoping that the circumstances would dramatically change in a glorious instant.

A couple days later, Sarah and Amber raided the costume room from the university drama department with the good graces of Mindy who oversaw the backstage unit. Sarah's normal sense of adventure and excitement had been considerably dampened by the grief sitting like a heavy stone in her chest, but even through the haze of mourning she felt a slight thrill at the sight of the racks of well-crafted costumes that awaited the two young women.

Amber made an atrocious, girly sound that caused Sarah to cringe as she dove right in to scour the costumes.

Sarah was struck yet again—as she often had in those first few awful days—by the oddity of performing simple or normal tasks of life after all that she'd been through and all she'd seen in the last months. Well, the last months that technically didn't exist here. How did you go from rubbing shoulders with the mythological Sidhe, battling a mage, and living in the Goblin Kingdom in the Underground to washing dishes, attending college classes, and pretending you were okay so no one would ask what was wrong? The first visit to the labyrinth and the Goblin Kingdom had felt dreamlike after returning to her own world: this time, her own world felt like the dream and the Underground like the home she'd suddenly lost.

She looked at a rack with dresses arrayed in bright colours and draping fabrics. While her mind wandered to the abnormality of her situation, she pulled out a hanger with a knee-length dress the colour of the sky. The fall of the sheer sleeves and the tiered skirt reminded her of some of the imaginative celebratory garb from the Fey on Midsummer's Eve at the Adamant Palace, but the colour was extremely close to the shade that Seraphina wore. The hanger clacked loudly as she hurriedly put it back on the rack. No, certainly not that one.

She meandered to another rack with outfits that seemed to be from earlier 20th century. As she sorted through them almost mindlessly, not really caring much about what she wore to a party she didn't look forward to, a swath of rich colour caught her eye. After pushing aside the mass of frilly pink frosting that suffocated the dress she wanted to see, her eyes ran up and down the gown.

"Hey Amber," she called, "what do you think of this one?"

* * *

><p>The costume bash was quite the big event for all the university students. Finals were over, and it was time to relax and celebrate. The Pearl Ballroom had a few impressive rooms under its roof to host the party, all with soaring ceilings and hardwood floors that gleamed with polish. The brass light fixtures had a faint dimming, and music drifted through the two rooms that had been rented out for the occasion.<p>

While Sarah and Amber had gotten ready, Sarah determined to try to enjoy herself; greatly for the sake of her friend who had been the best of true friends through the whole month. Even though Sarah wouldn't say what exactly troubled her spirit and ached so deep in her heart, Amber stuck by her and tried to be a comfort and stable shoulder to lean on without knowing precisely why. There had been multiple times when Amber was trying so hard to soothe the sadness in her friend that Sarah nearly broke down and told her everything so that she'd have that assurance of trust; but she always stopped herself. No matter how much any of her friends and family cared about her, she didn't think any of them would handle the truth very well without some sort of proof, and the beautiful ring Jareth had given her wouldn't be enough.

Amber looped her arm through Sarah's as they headed inside the Pearl Ballroom, and Sarah absently fingered the chain around her throat that hung past the neckline of her dress where the crystal and diamond ring hung between her breasts. She actually flashed a genuine smile at her best friend once they passed through the doors: she had a feeling that tonight they were going to have a good time despite Sarah's emotional woes.

The costumes were enormously varied: from princesses to flappers, cats to chickens, and knights to robots. Sarah gaped in confusion at a girl dressed head to toe in pink with a piece of cardboard stuck on top of her head. What on earth was that supposed to be?

In true Amber fashion, she had decided to be Queen Elizabeth. _Typical_, Sarah thought with a laugh. _She would pick a queen_…

Sarah had gone an entirely different route by choosing the glamour Hollywood years. The deep scarlet dress accentuated her slender curves with a tumble of satin to the floor that slung over one shoulder, fit at the waist, and dipped in the back. It swished around her feet as she walked. Her long, dark hair was curled in big retro waves, and a bit of red lipstick topped it all off.

Try as she might, she couldn't stop herself from comparing the last gala she'd attended to this one as they entered into the host. Instead of Sidhe in their ethereal finery gliding on silent feet, college students milled about in their variety of costumes. Where she had stared in wonder at the living adornments and magical gold and silver lights, here she took in the large rooms lit by electricity and decorated with garland and glitter. These faces that eyed the two women were quite human contrasted against the extraordinary faces that hovered before them in her memory. She glanced over at Amber whose blonde hair shone golden in the light.

And although her companion was blonde, she wished it was a different head of pale hair towering over hers.

Since the school had decided to make it a somewhat classy event, there was real dancing—ballroom style—instead of the usual college-age fare, and some people already huddled in the wide open space set apart for dancing. Right now it looked like they were doing some kind of salsa.

The evening started off rather well. The two women got drinks, found some of their other friends off to the side, and had some good laughs together for a while. Then Amber got the urge to join the dancing, so one of their guy friends asked her to go in the middle of an East Coast swing. Some of the others dispersed their own ways, and their friend Aaron asked Sarah for a dance.

"Thanks, Aaron, but I'm not really up for it tonight," she said with a sad smile.

"Ah, come on! Finals are over, and we're free for a while again. I'd say it's a great time to dance!" He waggled his eyebrows at her and smiled.

She laughed a little and shook her head. They'd been friends since the start of college, but there had never been anything remotely romantic or beyond the normal level of interest, so she normally wouldn't have hesitated to have fun and join him; but seeing those couples swirling around the room stirred up memories that she kept trying to push aside. No dancing tonight. Not yet.

"Maybe later," she said with a shrug. "Sorry, Aaron, but I'm not feeling up to it."

"All right," he sighed with mock hurt. "I suppose you're off the hook. For now." He nudged her with his elbow and turned to go find someone else, then glanced over his shoulder at her. "Oh, by the way, you look great! Red's a good colour for you."

"Thanks."

Sarah was all alone.

She smoothed her dress unnecessarily and glanced around the room full of people. So many of them were strangers. After a few minutes of awkwardly standing by herself and noticing a couple guys ogling her in the dress, her feet moved as if through sludge to wander around the dance hall.

_I wish you were here, Jareth…What's happened to you? I thought you'd have come back by now. After all those wonders and all that love, how do you go back to a normal life?_

A glimpse of spiked blonde hair.

Sarah closed her eyes and sighed. Now she was imagining things. She kept meandering around the room, but her gaze was a bit more vigilant on the guests dancing and loitering about even though she convinced herself she wanted so badly to see a sight of the Goblin King that he formed from her imagination.

A bit of midnight blue that sparkled when the light hit it.

Sarah's breath came a little shorter now. Her heart stuttered as it tried to resume a normal pace. Her heels clicked louder on the polished wood floor as they moved quicker past people blocking her view.

_Who was wearing that? It looked like the one…the one he wore so many years ago…It can't be! _

But she had to find out, so she wove her way forward with her neck craned to search through the throng of costumed people. There it was again! This time her heart really did thud noisily in her ears: that glittering blue coat had some familiar pale hair attached to it. She became almost frantic in slipping between groups of bystanders, standing on the tip of her toes to look over shoulders, and moving rapidly in the direction she'd seen that quick glimpse of the mysterious man.

A few guys made a protest as she shoved past them, but her focus zeroed in on the one thing that mattered in that moment. She'd forgotten about her friends, didn't give a thought to anyone else around her, and failed to recall convincing herself that it was only her imagination.

She saw it.

A mask held up to a face with a defined jaw and framed by styled blonde hair. The hand was gloved in black leather. The mouth was turned up in a partial smirk, a mouth that had first kissed her under the tempest in a high tower in a magical realm none of these people knew existed.

The masked face disappeared amidst the hundreds of other faces.

Sarah wanted nothing more than to shove everyone out of the way in a direct path towards him, but she drew a deep breath to calm her racing pulse and circled around towards where he'd been standing. If it was really him, would he behave this way? And why would he wait so long—over an entire excruciating month—to return to her? The fear that this wasn't actually Jareth was like a spear straight through her chest, and then another more terrifying thought followed: what if the Raven Mage Fiachna had killed Jareth and come in disguise as him to finish her off?

There was only one way to find out.

It reminded her so sharply of the masquerade dream where he'd tried to beguile her at such a young age into forgetting about Toby that all those vivid memories came rushing back and so quickly that she thought she even heard that same music.

_Wait…but…_

It turned out, it wasn't her imagination. She stopped and listened. The last song had ended and a new one had begun playing, the music hauntingly familiar from her past.

Couples floated out onto the dance floor in a waltz flowing gently with the music. What she didn't notice was the DJ frowning and fiddling with the sound equipment as he tried to figure out where the music came from and why his tech had stopped working. Her hands trembled, and her heart struck against her breastbone in a staccato pattern. She spun around in a frantic search for the one man she wanted to see. The one man who wasn't from this world.

_There's such a sad love  
>Deep in your eyes, a kind of pale jewel<br>Open and closed within your eyes  
>I'll place the sky within your eyes<em>

_There's such a fooled heart_  
><em>Beating so fast in search of new dreams<em>  
><em>A love that will last within your heart<em>  
><em>I'll place the moon within your heart<em>

Sarah closed her eyes as tears glistened in their green depths. A voice sang quietly behind her, warm breath softly stirring her hair and sending a shiver down her spine.

_As the pain sweeps through  
>Makes no sense for you<br>Every thrill has gone  
>Wasn't too much fun at all<br>But I'll be there for you  
>As the world falls down<em>

A hand interlaced with hers and pulled her around. She opened her eyes, and they trailed up from a couple of shiny black boots, to a glittering midnight blue coat, and up to a pair of mismatched eyes long missed. They gazed at her with such ancient feeling and emotion hidden away for only her to see that her heart ached and more than one tear escaped down her cheeks.

The Goblin King drew her closer and put his other hand at her waist. He moved them across the floor with ease and grace and kept her close, close enough she had to tilt her head back to look up into his face. She stared at him in wonder without ever turning aside as if he might disappear if she looked away for even a second.

_Jareth came back for me…I can't believe he's alive! _

Sarah couldn't even explain all the emotions bursting out of her heart. When a hope long waited for finally arrives, there is little that compares to its joy. All the pain and sadness from the last month were worth every moment for this one when the source of suffering transformed into the source of bliss.

The love of her life had survived the Raven Mage and made it back to her across their worlds. And they finally had gotten their dance!

He mesmerised her with his soothing, pleasant voice as he continued to sing to her with the music sweeping around them. He conveyed with song what couldn't be otherwise expressed with just mere words.

_I'll paint you mornings of gold  
>I'll spin you Valentine evenings<br>Though we're strangers till now  
>We're choosing the path between the stars<br>I'll leave my love between the stars_

Neither of them paid any heed, but a great many eyes watched them dance in the middle of the room with a few other couples, drawn to the mysterious pair almost as if the air around them bent and stirred with something not of this world; as if destiny cloaked them in a glorious haze that attracted the gaze of simple minds that didn't understand why this moment was so pivotal.

As his voice drew out the last word and came to a stop, Sarah swallowed the lump in her throat to try to form words. She moved the hand that rested on his shoulder to remove the mask still covering half of his face. He smirked a little when she did. She touched his cheek and ran her fingers along his jawline.

"You're alive," she whispered.

His breath ghosted upon the skin of her wrist. "I am. Did you really think the Goblin King would be defeated by a ragged mage?" He smiled and tugged her even closer so his coat brushed against her dress.

"But…" Sarah paused before she unleashed a slew of questions on him and saw that he waited for her to ask them. He knew her so well. "I don't know what to say first. There's so much. It feels like I can't contain everything."

"Then we will save the words for later."

Jareth enfolded Sarah in a kiss that she would never forget. His arms wrapped around her waist to pull her close until their hearts beat against each other. Her hands slid up to his shoulders and gently gripped him as her knees weakened. All the built-up emotions from the time separated and wondering, the radiant joy that erupted from deep within at their reunion, and the great hope for what was to come poured into that kiss like a raging tide that swept them away from the rest of the world in a place only they existed.

When they finally pulled apart, at last Sarah noticed the amount of attention they'd managed. Her cheeks flushed pink, and she laughed a bit out of both amusement and embarrassment. He glanced to the side and took a step back but kept his hands on her waist. Their song had also just ended, and the regular music restarted.

"Somewhere quieter would be a better choice," said Jareth. "Shall we?"

"Yes!" As soon as he led her off the dance floor, she tugged on his hand and leaned towards his ear. "Oh, but my friends! I can't just leave without saying something."

"I will bring you back here before the night is over. They will have to wait till then, won't they?" He smirked and quickened his pace with those long legs.

Sarah saw swift movement out of the corner of her eye and turned her head. Just before Jareth and she went through the door, she saw that it was Amber heading for them. Sarah opened her mouth but closed it again when she couldn't think of anything to say. Then they were gone.

The crisp night air washed over them. A few stragglers were headed inside for the party, but there weren't hardly any people outside. Jareth led them around the corner out of sight, and just as Sarah started to ask where they were going, she blinked and wavered. In that instant, he'd transported them up onto the roof of the building.

The stars glittered like crystals scattered heavily all over the sky without a cloud in sight. It was cool but not too cold to stand out in the open air. The city spread out before them in an array of lights that twinkled against the darkness.

She wrapped her arm through Jareth's and nestled close into his side where his warmth calmed her nerves. He slipped off his gloves and reached out to push some of her rich dark waves away from her face.

"I thought you'd died," she said in a breathy voice. "What happened? Why didn't you come back for me sooner?"

"I shall tell you all that happened, my love," said Jareth. "I want you to know."

* * *

><p>Jareth took time to collect himself before beginning his side of the story and reliving those terrible moments up in the mountains. He stared down at the loveliness of the woman he loved and basked in the joy of their reunion. The red dress did look particularly stunning on her…<p>

He turned his thoughts back onto the right path and remembered how Fiachna the Raven Mage had come to his end.

"_And I made a vow to myself, a vow that if I had to give my life to save you, I would. I am going to make sure that you are safe."_

_As Jareth spoke these words, he collected up every last ounce of energy and power left within him until it pulled all around him and through him like lightning gathering to strike. He had never used so much all at once for it was like draining every last drop from a deep well. And he used it to save Sarah Williams even though it could cost him his life._

_Sarah's eyes in those last moments haunted him. So much confusion, sorrow, and love. Then she disappeared in a flash of light. _

_He had used his ability to send her home where she'd be safe. _

_However, the cost was high for it took most of his remaining energy to do it and left him so dreadfully vulnerable to the bloodthirsty enemy standing so close. Physically he had already weakened from the wound in his ribs that had bled so much, and now his energy was all but gone. It had been similar as to when he used a great deal of power to try to locate Fiachna up in the Chamber of the Stars where Sarah found him unconscious. _

_Death loomed like a shadow in the corner of his eye. He gasped for air and lifted his head. He hadn't even realised that he'd fallen to his knees on the hard ground. _

_But so had Fiachna. He too had an injury that bled freely down his back, and Sarah's abrupt disappearance had stunned him. Jareth used the distraction to his advantage. He used the very last dregs of his power to hit Fiachna with a force that threw him backwards. The mage cried out in pain when his wound struck the floor._

_Jareth crossed the distance between them after struggling to his feet. He could go at any moment but would not leave this unfinished._

_Fiachna stared up at him with wide eyes that no longer hid their fear, yet hatred and anger burned behind the dread with a blazing furnace. "The Darkness. The Shadow is there. It will finish the work I could not…" Madness was coming over him at the end. _

"_I do not take life willingly," said Jareth, "but do not think that will make me hesitate to take yours, Raven Mage." _

_Jareth took out the dagger Fiachna himself had put in his ribs and plunged it into the mage's chest. It pierced straight through his dark heart. The scream that filled the Great Hall echoed out into the mountains. _

_It was done. Fiachna was dead._

_Jareth stumbled and collapsed. His hand clutched the wound that throbbed in his side, and he struggled to keep his eyes open. Just before he lost consciousness, he saw another figure rise to their feet across the hall. Seraphina. He would have laughed at the irony if he hadn't been about to pass out of knowledge and coherence. _So this is how I will die…at the hand of Seraphina. How wonderful,_ he thought with a scornful laugh inside his mind. _

_It had all been worth it. It was worth greeting death to know that Sarah made it home safely and that Fiachna could no longer haunt her steps. He had given everything for her…_

_The unexpected happened. Completely unexpected. _

_Seraphina seemed dazed, but as soon as a small figure rushed into the room, her whole body stilled. Jareth recognised Hoggle who viewed the devastation and the aftermath with astonishment written in the crevices of his face. Seraphina stared at the dwarf for a long time, and Hoggle finally saw her watching him. He cowered and started to back away._

_She smiled a radiant smile at the dwarf and began speaking to him, but Jareth couldn't understand what she said. He did see the dwarf's puzzled reaction though. Hoggle wrung his hands and scowled while the Fay woman talked and slowly approached him. That expression of pure adoration on Seraphina's face was so foreign and confusing that Jareth thought he was hallucinating in his last minutes of awareness. The last thing he saw was Hoggle hobbling towards him at a quick pace with Seraphina trailing behind like a glad puppy._

_Then darkness. _

Jareth hid his amusement at the look of pure amazement on Sarah's face once he finished his tale. She sputtered a bit before forming coherent sentences.

"I…it…It worked! Ha! I didn't even…wow. Oh poor Hoggle!"

"So it _was_ you. Once I woke from unconsciousness days later, I tried to discover what had happened and only got vague answers from that stupid dwarf. It turns out, Seraphina had fallen into some sort of infatuation with him. He was wishing all sorts of plagues on her whenever I saw him. I thought you might have something to do with it…"

Sarah laughed for a long while. When she calmed down, she grinned up at him. "Serves her right!" She told him about the vial containing some sort of love potion or other that Seraphina had planned to use on him and how Sarah used it on her instead when she'd been knocked out. "I couldn't kill her. I just couldn't. So it seemed like a good idea at the time."

"She cannot enter my realm, so he is quite safe from her affections—which will only last another week or two—but it certainly put him in a ruffle for a while. Turns out that you were quite brilliant to do it because without her help when he asked, I would not have gotten back to my realm. Who would have thought that Seraphina would be the one to help us! Last I knew, she was outside the walls of the kingdom pining away for silly Hogworth."

"Hoggle."

"A better plan for her was never conceived before. You are amazing, Sarah Williams."

She ducked her head and smiled under his appraisal. Then she reached out to touch his ribs where he had been stabbed. "You almost died. You almost died to save me."

"It was a cost I was glad to pay," he murmured. "I am alive still. See? It took a long time to regain all my strength and recover, but I am well again. I was on the edge of death for days, but there was something worth fighting for to stay in the land of the living. And I am here. Even if it took years before I could come find you, I would still come."

She wrapped her arms around his waist and held him tightly. "And I would have waited all those years for you. There were times I thought maybe you'd been killed or couldn't come back, but I knew that my life would never go back to the way it was. There would never be anyone I could love like I love you."

He rested his hand on her lower back and leaned close. "I will love you forever, and forever is a very long time for me. And for you. I came back to you Sarah because you still owe me a favour."

Sarah blinked and raised an eyebrow up at him. "Oh really? That's why you came back?"

"Oh, and because you owed me a dance as well. Now that we have had our dance…"

Sarah cleared her throat and avoided looking directly at him. He could feel her hands shaking slightly on his back. "What would that favour be then?" she asked.

He leaned down until he was inches from her ear and whispered, "Fear me, love me, do as I say, and I will be your slave." He pulled back so he could look into those beautiful, large green eyes. "Be at my side forever. Be my Queen."

* * *

><p>Sarah gaped at him as wonder and joy effused every inch of her. He already had basically asked for her heart for as long as they would live, but this was so much more direct and so much more real. It wasn't a dream anymore. This was her life and her choice that would forever change its course. Was this what she truly wanted?<p>

It didn't take her long to answer that.

"Forever," she said as a smile stretched from one ear to the other, and her eyes brightened with something special that only Jareth would ever receive. She laughed when she couldn't contain the happiness inside anymore because her brilliant grin didn't release it all nearly enough, and his earnest countenance transformed into impish delight that danced in his eyes.

He put a bit more space between them, took her hand with the crystalline ring sparkling on it, and bowed low over that hand. He pressed his lips to her fingers then turned it over and kissed her palm, slow and deliberate. His gaze lifted up to hers.

"I look forward to it."

Her smile dimmed a little as he straightened and towered over her. "But first," she said, "let me say goodbye. I know we can visit here whenever we like, but I can't just leave them all without a goodbye. Not this time."

* * *

><p><strong>NOTE:<strong> One more chapter left (the epilogue) and the story of Jareth and Sarah is complete. So what do you guys think?! How did you like the resolution? There will be more obviously in the next chapter that fully wraps everything up, but I'd LOVE to hear everyone's thoughts about this one. Excited about them reunited? I am!

Oh, and go watch my Doctor Who YouTube video I posted the link to last chapter...because you love me for giving you a happy ending. Right? Or just review! :)


	30. Epilogue: It's Only Forever

**A/N**: Firstly, I would like to PROFUSELY APOLOGISE for the long delay. I didn't intend for it to be so long, but I didn't quite get it all done and uploaded before summer really hit. For those of you who've been around since last summer know, my summers are the busiest time of year for me (crazy busy, I tell you) so I hardly am at home let alone able to do any good amount of writing. Plus, I didn't want to be lazy or nonchalant about the last chapter. The epilogue is just as important!

I've thoroughly enjoyed writing this story, but even more so, sharing it with all of you! Yes, _you_. All of you. It's because of you guys that it even means anything and that I kept going until the final finish. So I'd like to THANK ALL OF YOU who read it, reviewed, alerted, or favourited this story in any way. It's been so fun and a huge blessing to get your responses and to see the all the people who've enjoyed it. Thanks SO SO SO much everyone! Much love to you all! I'm honestly going to miss you who I've gotten to chat to throughout the story…

**Lylabeth:** Wow! That's all I can say. Thank you so much for all your reviews and for so much feedback. It means a lot that you took all that time to do it, and I wish I could respond in kind but I don't think everyone would appreciate me leaving a chapter size response here on the chapter page, haha. You are so well-versed in all Irish folklore and the Sidhe that I feel very ignorant! Glad I got a lot spot on, but there are certainly some things I did on my own. Hope that's all right :). You should definitely write your own stories or pass on all that knowledge though! Thanks also for the constructive criticism because I know I don't catch everything and for the reading suggestions. I hope you find this story again and get to read this final epilogue! Also, I will be publishing under the epic fantasy genre someday by the pen-name of E.M. Fleischer.

**anonymous:** The Darkness or the Shadow Fiachna mentioned is just a reference to Evil itself that dwells in the Underground. That greater dark power behind the individuals...And thanks!

**Jill: **Thanks for getting on me about this epilogue, haha! I was just gone so much, but here it is! I'm so glad you've enjoyed the story :)

**sunnysideoflife:** I blush. All I can say is: thank you. Thank you very, very much :)

Here it is. The epic conclusion…

**Epilogue: It's Only Forever**

**...**

**...**

The ethereal, pale gold light flickered like tongues of flame in the cradle of silver glass shaped with curves like seashells dangling at various lengths on delicate, glittering chains from the ceiling. Night had fallen, and the few scattered lights cast a small pool of illumination surrounded by shadows that almost seemed to dance with the lambent curls of radiance. The height of the ceiling could not be guessed since it reached high out of the light, and the shadows played about the edges of a high seat that sat in the midst of a vast chamber. A material thick and smooth of the purest white fell in soft folds over the back of the throne and rippled down to the floor paved with dark green stone running with veins of gold.

Standing at the foot of the high seat was an impressively tall figure, his face cast in dark shades but his bronze skin gleaming under the soft touches of pale gold light.

"You know not what you ask of us." His words echoed deep and rich into the dark reaches of the grand chamber. "To request such a gift for a mere mortal…"

"I know exactly what I ask of you," replied a melodic voice from a second silhouette standing a proper distance from the throne. "That is why I have come. It is not a whim or a fanciful desire: it is a decision I have made concerning my eternity. We both have, for her opinion is as important as my own."

"The request will be put to the whole of the High Court to decide whether to grant it or not." A bout of hesitation caused another layer of unspoken tension. "You are absolutely certain this is what you want? Once done, it cannot be undone. This has rarely been granted in all of our existence, the last not for a thousand years or more. There are many consequences to this action."

"All of which I am well aware of," said the second Fay with a clenched jaw. He shifted on his feet. "I did not come to be questioned but to bring the issue before the High Court. You are fortunate I even asked any sort of permission from any of you…"

"And of that _I_ am well aware. Which is why we will consider this with great sobriety and sincerity. Await our answer. It will come soon."

The majestic figure of an unearthly man took two chalices in his hands and offered one to his guest. The emeralds set in silver glinted with green sparks as they raised their chalices in the air.

"Your words have been heard. Your request has been made known. And the Court shall hear. Blessings be upon your way and in the waiting."

They both drank deeply of the golden mead.

* * *

><p>Toby blew a puff of warm breath on the window until it fogged up. He drew a face, the pad of his finger squeaking on the glass. It was five minutes until six o'clock when his sister was supposed to show up, and so he waited for her at the window as the minutes counted down slower than he ever remembered. Well, except for that one time in school when he had a new red ball he wanted to play with at recess…<p>

His finger paused on the window when he heard a car driving down the street, and as soon as it came closer, he recognised it immediately. Sarah was a few minutes early! He hastily wiped the glass with his sleeve and pressed his face against the cool surface to watch as his older sister climbed out of the car.

Toby didn't know the right words, but he did know that something seemed different about Sarah when her face came into view out in the sunlight. She looked happy, but she also had an aura about her that he couldn't put his finger on. It certainly was different than the last few times he'd seen her when her eyes seemed so very sad and deep. He didn't like seeing her like that. It was more than her emotional state, though, and reminded him of stories she had read to him when he was younger where a character would handle something magical and the effect lingered upon them.

As soon as Sarah disappeared from view, he knew it meant she was about to knock on the door; yet a blur of movement caught his eye that he almost missed by darting away from the window. A barn owl tucked its wings against its sides after perching on a branch in one of the trees outside of the house. Toby frowned and peered out at it. Strange…

The owl was forgotten once he heard Sarah's voice downstairs. He ran down the steps and straight into her arms as he'd done for years now at the sight of her.

"You know how glad I am to see you, Toby?" Sarah said with a delighted laugh. She squeezed him tight.

"A lot?"

"Yeah. A lot," she said in a softer tone as she looked down at him.

His parents regained her attention with pointless pleasantries, but all he wanted to know was why they'd seemed anxious after Sarah called the night before. They'd talked late after his bedtime about why she rang them up to come over the next day. He was young enough not to understand what might upset them but old enough to sense that things were about to change and all it took were a few words from his older sister's lips. Her deep green eyes glanced down at him for a few moments as if sensing his thoughts.

"We should all sit down," said Sarah. Her smile was nervous and uncertain.

Toby saw his mom and dad exchange a look. What was going on?

Once they had all settled in the living room, his mom offered everyone something to drink. Sarah said 'yes' a little hastily as her fingers toyed with a button on her shirt.

"What's wrong, Sarah?" asked Toby with a scowl. "I thought you were really happy when you got here, but now you look sad or worried."

She ruffled his hair, and he laughed as he ducked his head to get away.

"I just have some big news to tell you guys, and it makes me kind of nervous. That's all. Did you ever have a big secret that you knew you had to tell?" Toby shrugged. "Well, it's like that and it gives you a funny feeling inside when you're about to tell it."

"What kind of secret? I like secrets."

She smiled a real smile this time. "It'll have to wait till your mom comes back."

He huffed and threw himself back on the couch. He grabbed a pillow and waited till his mom entered the room again with some iced tea and lemonade. Sarah took a long drink from her glass with eyes avoiding direct eye contact with anyone for a long while.

"All right, Sarah, sweetheart," her dad began, "what is it? You said you had something important to tell us."

"I do. I really do. Uh…well…might as well come out with it. No beating around the bush." She met the gaze of her father. "I've decided to move. Sort of…far away."

"How far?" her stepmother questioned with eyebrows raised.

"Out of the country actually."

Toby's mouth dropped open a bit. It sounded like quite the adventure, but he wondered if he would see Sarah again. Living out of the country seemed so far away…

"To Ireland. It's a beautiful place, so full of magic and wonderful things and opportunities." The subtle lift of her lips made Toby think of secrets and inside jokes. "It's not as sudden a choice as it seems to you guys, but I've never been more excited. I wish I could explain more, but I think it's best to leave it at that. And I'm going in…three days."

Their parents' joint exclamations of surprise startled Toby. He closed his mouth and watched the adults begin to fire questions at Sarah who manoeuvred around them with strange ease. When the barrage became too much, she raised her hands and her voice for silence.

"Okay, I understand how crazy this sounds, but you'll have to trust me. I've made my choice." Her eyes shone with unspoken joy that radiated off her skin like a soft sheen of moonlight. "I have a place to stay, people I know, and so much to do and enjoy. I'll be safe and having adventures none of you will ever understand. Just know that I'm happier than I've ever been about this change. And I'll visit too! When I can. I'm not going to disappear forever." She drew in a shaky breath at those last words and dropped her head.

Toby kicked his feet. "You promise you'll visit?"

"I promise," she said with fierce determination set in her jaw when she looked at him.

When their parents began another round of paternal interrogation, he got up and headed up the stairs to his room to think about Sarah's news alone. He sprawled on his bed to stare up at the ceiling. A little while later, a soft knock interrupted his thoughts. Sarah poked her head in.

"Can I come in?"

He nodded. She sat on the bed next to him. He rolled over and reached for a small book that fit into his pocket bound with red leather and golden script on the front. He saw Sarah's eyes widen slightly when he lifted it up.

"I read it, you know," he said. "Thanks for giving it to me. I really like it. You told us a secret, so can I tell you one?"

Sarah swallowed hard and nodded.

Toby flipped through the worn pages. "It's weird because…whenever I read this, it kind of feels…familiar. Like I've read it before. Or seen it. Or something…Like I had a dream like this and didn't remember till I read this book. Isn't that weird?"

Sarah took a moment to respond, and when she did it was in a soft voice and intent eyes on her little brother. "Not at all. You know, maybe there's a reason. You may find out some day too. Sometimes what seems like a dream isn't a dream at all."

"So you don't think I'm weird?"

Sarah laughed. "Of course not! Well, not any more than me!"

He grinned and put the book back on the bed-stand. It felt freeing to share that with someone after wondering about why he felt that way for so long. He still couldn't explain it very well, but Sarah always understood things that most people didn't even if the words weren't quite right.

"I'm going to miss you," he said in a whisper.

"I'm going to miss you too." Her lips quivered, and she cleared her throat as her eyes glistened with unshed tears. She pulled him to her chest and held him tight. "I love you very much, you know. But don't worry. I'll see you again, and I'll try to make it soon, okay?"

"You promised, so I know you will."

She shuddered and pulled him back so she could look at him. "Then promise me something: keep dreaming, have adventures, and enjoy being a kid while you can. The world tries to take away your imagination and simple wonder and enjoyment of life, but don't let it."

Toby wasn't fully sure what she meant, but he consented.

When his big sister walked out the door the next morning with one last brilliant smile sent his way just for him, he knew that she wouldn't be the same when he saw her again. He was only a little sad for it because he felt there was an unseen wonder ahead of her.

* * *

><p>There was only one last goodbye to make: the most difficult to achieve because of the persistent questions that would inevitably come.<p>

Sarah drew in a deep breath through her parted lips when she heard Amber's shoes on the stairs outside. She poured hot tea in two red mugs and set them on the table beside the cake she'd baked earlier. The apartment lacked a few extra items that had once been there now that Sarah had taken a few boxes to her dad's house the night before, for what use would she have of any possessions here when her life was about to start in an entirely different world? The few pieces of furniture she owned would be left with Amber to use or sell if she chose to, but the absence of some of her things was noticeable. Amber would immediately perceive that a shift in their futures had taken place; although she already had witnessed Jareth's return and their reunion at the costume ball, which was more than enough to place Amber in an alarmed state. She'd nearly attacked Sarah with her burning curiosity the following day after Sarah had returned to the apartment to begin preparations for her new life, but Sarah refused to say anything until the time was right. Amber graciously stepped back from the issue, but she was bursting at the seams to know who the mystery man was that kissed her best friend on the dance floor as if they'd known each other for years.

When the blonde opened the door and stepped inside, she was met with the sight of her friend sitting at the table with two mugs of steaming tea and a cake waiting to be sliced. Sarah smiled and nodded at the afternoon snack.

"I made your favourite: lemon cake. And here's some tea. I thought we'd sit down and chat, but go ahead and take your time." Amber had just gotten back from a class, the book bag and papers a telling sign.

"Thanks," Amber said slowly. "Not that I'm not excited for lemon cake, but this makes me feel like you're going to ask some huge favour or announce some crazy news. Are you pregnant?"

Sarah choked on her tea and glared at her friend over the rim of the mug. "No. Definitely not. I said I'd tell you some things about…about what happened a couple nights ago. This is me ready to tell you. _Not_ pregnant."

Amber blew out a relieved breath that stirred her bangs and set her bag on the ground before plopping in a chair at the table. She grabbed the knife and cut into the round cake decorated with white frosting. "That's a relief. Just thought with all this you might be saying you're getting married or something wild like that. Ha!"

At Sarah's nervous laugh that died off rather quickly, Amber's head shot up. The knife paused. Sarah hid her hands under the table on her lap.

"Oh, you've got to be kidding…No way."

Sarah lowered her gaze and slowly placed her left hand back on the smooth tabletop. The incredible crystal and diamond ring that Jareth had given her caught the light in a burst of rainbow embers. Amber gasped then gaped with her mouth hanging open.

"This is hard to explain," said Sarah with a sheepish smile. "All I can tell you is that we met years ago when I was a lot younger." She gained more confidence as she spoke and took the knife out of Amber's hand to finish cutting slices of cake for them. As she put two pieces on plates, she continued. "It wasn't love at first sight or anything silly like that. It surprised me actually. Love is like that. It comes up behind you step by step until you begin to sense its presence, like a soft sound or a sweet fragrance, until it's right beside you and takes your hand. There's no mistaking it then. Those fingers wrapped around yours…"

Sarah's heart swelled in her chest, and she closed her eyes a moment. Amber stared in fascination.

"You really are in love, aren't you?" Amber murmured. "You've never…Wow. I'm so sorry I've been upset with you for keeping secrets. Seeing you two dancing at the party like the rest of the world ceased to exist: it was almost magical. Then I realised you had to know each other already because no one looks at each other like that for the first time. Sarah, who is he?"

"The love of my life."

They both smiled the smiles that only women can give to each other when sharing about those precious moments when they've found the one they'll spend the rest of their life with.

"But who is he? What's his name? Where did he come from? There's so many things I want to know! Tell me all about this mystery man."

"Amber…I'm really sorry but there's not much I can tell you. His name is Jareth. He's not from around here. Not anywhere even close actually. I didn't realise all those years ago how wonderful he was, and it's not because he's perfect. He's far from perfect, but it's that heart of his that he kept so well hidden and guarded that changed my own over time. The deeper I saw into him, the harder I fell. He loves me in a way I've never been loved. It frightened me sometimes, but when someone's willing to give up everything for you, eventually you stop being afraid because you realise how special and rare that is. There's something more I've got to let you know too before we say anything else." She took a long sip of her tea to gather the right words while Amber chewed nervously on her lip. "Like I said, he's not from around here and I'm going to leave with him. I'm going to Ireland."

It tore at her insides to have to lie to everyone she loved, but 'moving to Ireland' seemed the closest she could come to revealing the truth to friends and family. It was the country that had first come into contact with Jareth and his world, and there was no way in this realm or the other that she was going to say she was moving to the Underground, a magical domain beyond the sight of this one where there were fairies, dwarfs, and Fey. That's not the memory she wanted to leave behind.

Amber's eyes grew huge at the same time her eyebrows rose up high on her forehead. She almost dropped the mug in her hands.

"This is a lot to take in all at once, I know," Sarah pressed on, "but I hope you understand. Or even if you don't, I hope you're okay. If I had known earlier when I was going to go, I would've let you all know sooner too."

"But you still could have said you were leaving even if you didn't know when!"

"It's a bit more complicated than that. I hoped I'd be going, but I wasn't exactly sure."

Amber's eyes softened. "You weren't sure he would take you with him?"

Sarah nodded, not explaining the full complexities of the situation. _I was hoping he wasn't dead or hadn't abandoned me after fighting an evil mage who wanted to kill us both. Yeah, that would go over well._

"When are you leaving?"

"In two days."

Another bout of silence settled over the apartment. Neither made eye contact for a few minutes.

"So this is actually a goodbye," said Amber.

"Yeah," breathed Sarah. She swallowed the lump forming in her throat. "For now."

"Why didn't you tell me any of this sooner?" Amber's eyes were brimming with melancholy and a hint of injury. "It's kind of hard to digest news that your best friend is suddenly getting married and moving away. Not in a few months: two days!"

"I wish I could've shared it with you before, but there was so much I didn't know and still so much I can't really explain. Do you trust me?" Amber nodded after a moment's hesitation. "Then please trust me now. I'm happier than I've ever been before. I get to be with the love of my life and live in an amazing place! It's hard having to do things this way, but I know it couldn't have happened any other way."

Amber rubbed at her eyes as she fought back tears of both sorrow and joy, grief from the approaching loss of her closest friend and rejoicing at the great joy that was at the source. She wasn't sure how to digest all this at once without warning. She glanced around the apartment and finally noticed that a few objects were missing of Sarah's, and that brought the truth closer to home than anything else.

"Well, I guess we'd better make the most of these next two days then," said Amber with a sad smile.

* * *

><p>Sarah Williams sat in her favourite park near her childhood home where the lawns were ruffled jade and the clear stream brilliant under the sunlight. A sense of familiarity warmed in her chest at all the memories—both past and recent—that lingered here. Only months ago she had been sitting at this same place thinking about her life and where it was headed, but little did she realise then just how much it would change within the span of a few days.<p>

Adventure always waits just around the corner. You never know what the next turn will bring.

And here she was. Spending her last few hours in her own home world before leaving to the Underground to begin a life together with the man of her dreams: literally and figuratively. He hadn't been her dream at first, but it only took a bit of time and unveiling for her to see how much he'd become her new dream for the future. It hadn't been what she was looking for or expecting, but those were always the best of all.

After all the goodbyes and tying up of loose ends here in this life, her heart ached with both the bitter and the sweet, the sorrow and the joy. Even though she would see her family and friends again, it would never be the same as if she'd stayed here to live a normal life. Yet she couldn't deny her heart and the remarkable fate that awaited her in the magical realm unseen by Men.

"The Goblin Queen," she tried out quietly on her tongue. She pursed her lips. It sounded a bit grim or ghastly without its proper context; however, one had only to visit the kingdom to understand the shiver of excitement that ran down her spine all the way to her toes. In truth, the Goblin _King_ may have been the true cause of the thrill…

At dusk he would arrive to sweep her away to her new home. Even now the sun was close to the horizon, reaching out to paint the clouds with mauve and gold. The East darkened to a deep vibrant blue, and a steady wind blew in from the South.

"I'll be back someday," she murmured into the wind. "I won't just be Sarah Williams anymore, but I'll come back…"

A pale owl swooped in from the sky, the golden sun catching on the rise and fall of his wings as if swimming through a glimmering pool of light. He swirled downwards in a graceful spiral till he landed atop a stone pillar at the end of the bridge a few feet away from the young woman.

Sarah's grin rivalled the brilliance of the sun about to dip behind the mountains as she leapt to her feet. She grabbed the bag sitting in the grass beside her and clutched it tight to steady the eager tremble in her hands.

"I'm ready to go home," she said.

* * *

><p>Far from our world where fairies, goblins, and the Tuatha de Danaan are mere legends drifting among the mists of time, a realm full of forgotten myths and magic quivered like a drop of rain on the surface of the water with the rumour of a rare union that was just as mythical to them as they seem to us humans. In lands far from the source, many dwarves, pixies, and other beings laughed it aside as pure gossip, but many of the Fair Folk knew of its truth. It had been over a thousand years since such a solemn ceremony between a Fay and a mortal occurred; however, the knowledge that that particular mortal was being granted the even greater and rarer gift of the long life of the Fey was kept as secret as possible.<p>

The Sidhe Court had decided to grant this mortal woman Sarah Williams the Deoch na Beatha—Elixir of Immortality or Ambrosia as it was named in some human legends—after her displays of courage, wisdom, and sacrifice that marked her stay in the Underground; particularly in helping defeat the evil Raven Mage who no one else had had the boldness to confront. The Goblin King and his mortal love had overcome a great and vile power…together.

To receive immortality, life as that of the Sidhe, one had to be given it as a gift in a special goblet held by the Court made of a rare metal from deep in the White Mountains that shone gold under the sun and silver beneath the moon. Also, it had to be drunk at the time of Samhain: a festival that summoned in autumn. It just so happened that Samhain was almost upon them when the Goblin King brought tidings of Sarah's soon return.

The marriage consisted of two ceremonies: one private between only Jareth, Sarah, the High King, and two witnesses for the drinking of the Deoch na Beatha; the second for whoever they chose to invite to witness the marital bonding.

Although there were few present even at the marriage ceremony, it didn't take long for word to spread like a spark in the dry grass about the anticipated union between a great Fay and a human. It was said they were both clothed in matching resplendent white and gold that set them like stars against a dark sky when the falling sun burned bright and pure on their luxuriant apparel. Sarah Williams did not seem very mortal when the guests and witnesses gazed in awe upon her dark beauty: her shadowy curls rich against the spotless white cloth, her smooth skin pale but flushed prettily with joy and delight, and her full pink lips always with the hint of a smile in the corner. Also, no one had ever seen Jareth the Goblin King so outwardly glad and content, a peace in his pale gaze and no rigid tension along the line of his shoulders as he stood tall and proud at the side of the woman he'd chosen to spend forever with.

The celebration began as the last glimmer of the sun's orb disappeared and the first stars glittered in the deep blue heavens. A sweet, fresh wind blew in that smelled of exotic blooms and aromatic spices. The twenty guests ate and drank as the newly-bound couple vanished for a long while with three others: the High King of the Sidhe Court and Ètaìn and her husband.

This proceeding had a far more solemn air as Sarah Williams took with trembling hands the Ambrosia that would forever change her. The crystalline liquid tasted like a cold mountain snow, sweet fruit perfectly ripe bursting with flavour, and of spices from deep in the earth. Her whole body felt aflame without burning as the liquid ran through every vein. Words of ceremony were spoken, and Jareth's hand grasped hers tightly as the drink of life continued to rush through her.

The life she had promised to Jareth was now to span the centuries at his side.

Not everyone would notice a difference in Sarah when Jareth and she reappeared amidst the celebration. Many attributed it to the love that glowed upon her countenance and flowed off of her new husband in waves of warmth. Surely that was the reason for the extra radiance of her skin, the brightness of her green eyes, and the graceful movement of every bend of her arm or step of her foot. They did notice, though, that Jareth didn't really pay any heed to anyone or anything else except for the lovely being at his side, but he gazed at her as a man in a dream or a man who could hardly believe in her existence.

They did not linger long. Only enough to greet everyone—mostly Sarah, of course—and sip at the festive drink while enjoying the stars overhead and the music of Jareth's own composing that played over the sound of talk and laughter.

Just as Jareth leaned down to whisper in her ear and tug at her hand to signal their departure, Sarah saw her old friends standing near. She looked at Ludo with his hair actually clean and brushed, Sir Didymus in a sharp uniform over the bandages that covered his healing wounds, and Hoggle with his best cap on and gave them all a brilliant smile. They had been the first she visited as soon as her feet were on Underground soil. Mary also stood a few yards apart watching the new man and wife with a motherly gleam in her gaze. Sarah sent her a special smile for the woman had been such a support through all the difficulties to getting here, and she'd been there to help Sarah prepare for the wedding as her own mother or grandmother might have done. Sarah blew a kiss and waved before letting Jareth lead her away from the festivities. They glimmered as white and gold stars in the shadows that grew further and further away until no one could see them.

Sarah's friends stared after her with bittersweet expressions. Well, until Hoggle had to run and hide again for the fifth time that evening.

Seraphina had found him yet again and shouted her enthusiasm from across the grass. His eyes grew as large as plates as he scrambled for shelter from the adoring Fay. She only giggled like a little girl and chased after him. Apparently the potion worked longer than any of them had expected…

As the other Sidhe gaped at the scene of the once dignified and snobbish maiden racing after an ugly little dwarf with professions of love and devotion, Ètaìn laughed and turned her thoughts back to the remarkable couple that had slipped away mostly unnoticed. She leaned against her husband's arm, her golden hair tumbling down to his wrist.

"I never thought I would see Jareth so happy," she murmured. Her husband smiled and nodded. "They have such a great destiny written on their pages. I can sense it so strongly when I'm with them. Sarah Williams was meant to be in this world for a reason and a great purpose. This is not the end. This is only the beginning."

_..._

_A few months later…_

Sarah awoke when warm sunshine crept up the bed to stroke her cheek and touch her closed eyes. She stretched and turned over onto her side. The other half of the bed was empty, but a gold flower lay on the pillow where a head had lain earlier, the sun setting it afire when it struck its silken petals. A smile pulled at her lips when she remembered Jareth brought her that same flower the day after their first kiss on a similar bright morning. She reached over, plucked it up, and brought it to her nose to inhale its refreshing fragrance.

It felt strange still to remember that she was a married woman. Of course it was impossible to forget, but the surreal reality of it lingered even though it had been four months since that wonderful day. Being the new Goblin Queen took a lot of adjusting—especially when goblins were your new subjects—so it wasn't all rainbows and puppies since they returned to the Underground. It certainly wasn't the same as being a queen in her world or perhaps a lot of the other kingdoms here either because Jareth didn't exactly run his realm in a typical fashion. She loved it. He'd been instructing her in the ways of Fey royalty and how to handle the mischievous little creatures under their rule. She thought she had seen so much of him, but every day she still learned more about the enigmatic Goblin King; and she looked forward to every day for the rest of their lives. True, it would not always be easy to love him like she did now, yet she was willing to fight for their love and make it a choice even when she didn't feel like it. He was worth it.

A ghost of breath hit the back of her throat as a strong, lean arm slipped around her waist. Her smile broadened.

"Good morning," said Sarah.

"It is a good morning," said Jareth in a low voice. He placed a kiss where his warm breath touched her throat.

"I think I'm a pretty lucky woman. Still giving me flowers even though we're married?"

She set the gold blossom aside and shifted onto her back so she could see Jareth's face. He leaned the arm that had been around her waist on the other side of the mattress so he hovered over her. His thin lips quirked at the corner.

"If you still feel so fortunate in a hundred years, I will be happy."

Sarah laughed and laid a hand over his heart. The beat of it thrummed against her fingertips. "How about five hundred?"

"Then I shall be immensely happy."

"I look forward to it," she murmured as her hand slid up from his heart to his shoulder where she fingered a few of his blonde strands of fine hair. To be able to touch him so freely when no one else could continued to amaze and please her. Who would have thought that cold, calculating exterior would ever tumble down?

He began to lean down with his eyes on her mouth.

A loud crash echoed up the hall from down below. Both their heads spun towards the closed door. Jareth pursed his lips, and Sarah rolled her eyes.

"I'm guessing they still haven't quite recovered from you being gone those three weeks," she groaned. They had been absent for three weeks after their wedding, leaving the Goblin Kingdom fairly unattended since Jareth had insisted it would be fine. The goblins had gotten a bit drunk on so much freedom and a little crazed without direction. Needless to say, they'd returned to a rather…chaotic…castle.

"Mm. I think my Queen should accompany me down to set them straight, don't you?"

"Oh but it's so comfortable right here!" She blinked into the golden haze that made the dust particles floating in the air look like small fireflies darting around the room. The luxurious blanket woven of some silver thread specially crafted by sprites from the Evergreen Valley moulded around her so softly that going down to check on the impish creatures below did not sound at all appealing.

"Hm. I will just have to give you a good reason to get out of that bed then." As her mind conjured pleasant motivations he might think of, one of his crystals sparked in the sunlight in his palm with a swish of his hand. "Would a serpent do the trick? Or perhaps a rat?" It hovered over her covered legs.

She sat up before she even realised what she was doing and jabbed a finger at him. "No you don't! I'm your wife. You'd better not threaten me with those tricks of yours!" It didn't really surprise her. He could be remarkably romantic and sweeping her off of her feet, but the next moment his streak of mischief rushed upward to the surface. She wouldn't have it any other way, of course.

One finely arched brow of his lifted, but he did not move his hand. Sarah paused, eyed that crystal orb, and decided for a different approach that had worked plenty of times before. Her thick lashes dropped a little lower over her eyes, and she moved her long dark tresses over her shoulder to expose more of her alabaster skin. Predictably, his gaze followed the movement of her hand and then fell to her lips when she leaned forward.

Which meant he didn't see what the other hand was doing.

She snatched the crystal. His expression of indignation brought a bubble of laughter up to her throat. The crystal felt warm on her skin as she handled it gently in front of him. The indignation lining his mouth and wrinkling between his brows smoothed away when she began to swirl the clear orb in her hand the way he always did. She didn't come close to dropping it, and it seemed she had been juggling crystals all along.

"When did you…Never mind. I should no longer be surprised when you surprise me."

The smile she gave him made his heart tighten with pleasure in his chest. "I practised." The glint of joy refracting off of her slipped out of sight for a moment as sobriety settled like a shadow in her eyes. "When you sent me back and I didn't know if you were still alive or if I'd ever come back here. It…it made me feel closer to you, as if you were watching. Or that you would come flying in telling me I wasn't doing it right. It sounds silly, I know…"

Jareth placed a hand over the crystal in her palm to still its movement and looked down at her with a soft intensity. "Not at all. You have no idea how agonising that decision was, to send you back knowing that it might be the last time; that I might die without you ever knowing. But if I hadn't, we all might have died." His fingers stroked over her knuckles down to her wrist before lifting it to his lips. There he pressed a warm kiss, then on her palm. "It does not matter now. The Raven Mage is dead and we are together. Forever."

"Forever," she breathed as her eyes studied every line of his face.

"I must attend to duties downstairs, but do come down soon," he said with that familiar gleam of impishness in those mismatched eyes. "Although, first…"

Without warning, he grasped the back of her head and brought his lips to hers. Her arms naturally rose up to his shoulders and wrapped around his neck to bring him closer. After he'd kissed her quite thoroughly and stolen her breath, he pulled back and smirked. A smile tugged at her flushed lips as she slid out of bed at last even as he rose to his full height beside her. The pads of his fingers lightly brushed a trail down her back before he slipped by towards the door.

As soon as Sarah chose her outfit for the day, Mary knocked on the door and swooped in. Her trailing grey braid swung at her back as she carried a small tray of food into the broad chamber, a tray filled with eggs, vibrant fruit, and a giant golden biscuit. Sarah's stomach gave a noise of delight at the sight and smell of breakfast, and she laughed when Mary sent her a knowing glance as she set the tray on a clear surface.

"Thanks so much, Mary. I'm starving!"

"As I can hear. Pardon me for barging in, but I saw that His Majesty was elsewhere so I thought it safe to come in."

"It's no trouble. Especially when you come bearing gifts." Sarah grinned and sunk her teeth into one half of the biscuit drizzled with honey.

Mary began tidying the bed, but her gaze darted towards the young woman a handful of times until Sarah had to ask what the matter was.

"Oh, nothing dearie. Nothing wrong anyway." She straightened the pillows before facing Sarah with a hand on her hip and a tilt to her head. She tugged at her braid. "I just still can't believe you're here for good and as an immortal no less! It boggles my brain, it does. It hasn't changed you so much that it's startling: just enough that I can't help but stare sometimes. Pardon me, Your Majesty! You know how I speak my mind…"

"Oh, Mary, call me Sarah. We've been over that too many times." She moved forward and laid a hand on Mary's arm. "And don't be afraid to speak your mind. I've only just become a queen, but I came from the same place as you." She chewed on her lower lip a moment as her head dropped so she did not look directly at the older woman. "Do you…do you think my family will notice something's changed? That I'm different now?"

"I'm sure they will, dearie!" Mary patted her hand. "But they'll assume you've gotten older and touched by new experiences and adventures. It won't change how they see you."

"Thank you. Have I told you how much I love having you here with us? You're part of my family now, Mary, and always will be. Thank you."

Mary did not usually wear much of her emotion upon her face, but the look of love and sweetness in Sarah's gaze and softly spoken words touched straight to a deep place in her heart. She'd been so alone for so long, but now she had a young woman who could've been her granddaughter. And that was just how she planned to treat her.

"No, thank _you_, dearie," she murmured. "I've always wanted a family…"

* * *

><p>Jareth could sense Sarah approaching long before he saw her. He sat casually on his throne beneath the towering ceiling and allowed his attention to linger on her rather than the raucous band of goblins scattered throughout the chamber. She wore a white blouse with evergreen leather wrapped around her waist and at her wrists, and her hair was partially pulled back with a few complicated braids. Amusement lurked at the corner of his mouth when he considered how his style choices had influenced her a bit ever since she arrived. He wasn't complaining, of course. He found it considerably appealing.<p>

Her matching green leather boots thudded gently on the stone floors as she walked towards him, the goblins finally noticing the presence of their new queen and giving her obeisance as Jareth had ordered. He'd ordered quite firmly that first day they'd returned.

He rose up to meet her with his customary smirk and twinkle of his eyes. She placed her hand in his and turned to face the goblins who still stared at the pair of them. It'd been quite a shock to the half-brained creatures that their king of so many years had gotten himself a woman willing to stay in the Goblin Kingdom.

Just as the noise began to fill the room again, a magical whisper rustled through the air and caused everyone to still as if struck into stone. Sarah gripped Jareth's hand tighter, and he stared off into a place no one else could see as the fateful words drifted around them with an ominous echo.

"I wish the Goblin King would come and take me away."

Jareth stepped forward and released Sarah's hand, his black mantle appearing with a flourish in his arms. He threw it over his shoulders and whirled around to look at his new bride.

"No…it can't be," Sarah muttered. The shock of hearing the whispered wish stiffened her limbs and caused words to fail on her tongue. It always was a possibility since she dwelt here with the legendary Goblin King, but for it to actually happen was entirely unexpected. Could she watch some poor soul go through what she'd endured so many years ago? And that voice…it had been the voice of a child. Then she realised Jareth stared at her.

"It is," he declared. "I must go. Yet there is something you must see for yourself." He held up a crystal to her and beckoned her to look inside.

When Sarah examined the depths of the crystalline substance, a lump formed in her throat, and her heart pounded in her chest. The image had cleared into that of a young boy with blonde hair and blue eyes: a very familiar face. "Toby…"

She didn't know what to say. She was speechless. So she lifted her head to see the reaction of her beloved. He waved a hand and the crystal disappeared.

"I must go to him. He's said the words."

"But…" She shook her head. "You can't make him do the labyrinth! Not like I did. And he…he wished _himself_ here. How…?"

Jareth touched a hand to her waist and leaned close. "Who said I was going to send him through the labyrinth?"

Sarah's frown smoothed away like a rolling pin over dough, and she beamed up at her love. Her relief and excitement dimmed slightly when the gravity crashed down around her. "I was going to tell him the truth someday, but not this soon. I guess I don't have a choice now. Well! Here goes nothing. Toby, you're going to be in for quite a shock."

After an amused chuckle and a wink, Jareth disappeared with a bow and a flurry of black and white. Sarah gaped at the space he'd previously occupied and felt her thoughts racing and tangling all in her mind as the implications reasserted themselves.

Well, Toby was about to find out his big sister lived in a mythical and magical world instead of Ireland, that she also had gotten married to a legendary Fay who happened to be the Goblin King who she'd wished Toby away to as a baby, and that the Labyrinth book she'd given him had all come true. Oh, and her friends consisted of an old Irish woman, a large monster-like creature, a talking fox, and a dwarf; not to mention she was royalty over a slew of goblins…She'd have to let her brother know not to try to play with the fairies though. They bit. Oh, and not to talk to that sweet little blue worm because he might send you off in the completely wrong direction.

Although, now she was thankful for that. It's amazing how one wrong turn can actually be the right turn.

Yes. Sarah was ready.

**THE END**

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><p><strong>FINAL NOTE: <strong>For all of you who would like to be notified when I publish my novels, just let me know in a review or PM! I'll write your name down and send out a notice to you all when the time comes because it will probably be a while from now. Thank you to all of you!


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